


Joke Books And Children's Stories

by DuchessWinter



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Affectionate Reader, Bad Puns, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Puns & Word Play, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader gives him all the hugs, Reader-Insert, Sans Has Night Terrors, Sans Needs A Hug, Self Confidence Issues, Slow Burn, Swearing, eventually, reader is female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-07-26 14:09:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7576984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuchessWinter/pseuds/DuchessWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reader is a writer. She writes children's books. One day, she meets her biggest fan and his comical brother and her world changes forever.<br/>(This one will be more easygoing, less plot-heavy than the Gaster one so the chapters may be shorter and play around with any and all ideas that pop into my blond head.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Signing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this one, monsters have been on the surface for about a year and everybody is mostly chill with them.

Sans sat on a bench, enjoying the summer sun on those of his bones that were not covered by clothes. It was very warm, even maybe a bit too hot today, but he was still glad that Papyrus dragged him out of the house way to early.

  
Early for what? Well, apparently the author of one of his children's books was having a book signing, their very first one at that.  
  
  
_"BROTHER," he said, flailing his arms around, "DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS? NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN THE AUTHOR OF 'FLUFFY BUNNY GOES TO THE DENTIST', 'FLUFFY BUNNY GOES TO SLEEP', 'LION CALLS A MEETING',..." he continued naming stories for a minute, then took a deep breath, remembering what he was talking about.  " SO, YOU SEE, I MUST GO TO THIS EVENT WHERE THEY REVEAL THEIR NAME AND FACE.....SO THAT THEY SEE THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS SUPPORTING THEM, IT WILL BE A GREAT HONOR FOR THEM!"_  
_"sure, Pap," he replied then, seeing right through his brother's bravado and smiling at his eagerness to meet the author. Besides, the signing was right here, in the same city they lived in so it wasn't like it demanded much of Sans. Not like he wouldn't do absolutely anything for his beloved brother even if it did. The last year was full of changes and Papyrus deserved to have more events that made him happy._  
  
So now he was sitting in the park, the building where the event would take place - a bookstore with a small coffee shop in it -  was right across the street. Papyrus, wearing his Cool Dude shirt, purple pants and red rain boots, was not too far away happily chatting with some other monsters and humans about the signing.

Sans did a bit of research the day before. Apparently, the author decided to do this as a gesture of good will towards monsters, a way to show that both monsters and humans read the same books and are more the same than can be thought at first glance.

  
Sans chucked quietly. Well, he's seen some humans in the past year  - some of them really were nice. Others, however, were really asking for a bad time. Still, it's good to know that the person who wrote the book that Sans read to Papyrus almost every night for the past 7 years was a good guy. Or girl. Or, probably, a sweet old granny or a nice middle-aged teacher.  
The stout skeleton looked around - there were more people scattered across the park than usual. Monster and human children playing and discussing stuff. Their parents, watching over the children cautiously. Some parents, however, started talking to eachother as they waited for the doors to the bookstore to open. That was nice to see, Sans thought and closed his eyes sleepily, knowing that his brother's booming voice would inform him the second it was time to move.  
  
The chatter around him mixed into a humming background noise. People and monsters talking, children laughing and playing, groups of teens discussing their weird headcannons about children's books, his brother's excited voice. In that whirlpool of sounds, there was a voice that didn't quite catch Sans' attention enough to try to discern words, but was pleasant enough for him to concentrate on it, listening to it like he would to a distant but relaxing tune. It was a female voice, the tone was mostly calm with glimmers of excitement. The owner of the voice seemed like a kind person, Sans decided.  
Slowly, bit by bit, the voice grew louder and then suddenly went silent.  
_"must have went away, "_ the skeleton thought, noting to himself that he was even a bit disappointed as people kept gathering and there was nothing to concentrate on now that the noise was getting worse.  
  
"Excuse me, " he heard the voice again, this time right infront of him.  
  
The skeleton opened his eyes and was met with a curious stare of the most beautiful e/c eyes he had ever seen in his life.  
  
"ah, uh, " he wanted to slap himself across the skull. Now's not the time to act dumb. Not when the owner of those eyes, a human girl with h/c hair that shone in the sunlight and a smile that made his soul twitch strangely was waiting for an answer.  
"uh, hey buddy," he shrugged a little and made a relaxed expression appear on his face. "anything i can't help ya with?"  
The human's smile widened as she cocked her head to the side. One of her hands was holding a notepad while the other smoothed out the skirt of her long f/c-colored sunflower dress. Right, the weather must have been even hotter for humans than it was for him.

  
"Sorry to bother you, I'm just making a little survey and your brother said that you could answer a few questions."  
Her voice was really nice, he thought to himself. There was no animosity, no fear that could often be heard from people who had to have conversations with him - a living, walking, talking magical skeleton. It carried a warmth people with kind souls tended to have and the excited notes that could be caught if listened carefully were cute too. Wait, cute? He must have sat in the sun too long. Didn't he have to give her an answer anyway?

  
"yeah, sure" he replied with a carefree tone.

  
"Thanks, " she nodded and they exchanged names. She asked if she could sit beside him so she wouldn't just stand over him awkwardly. He let out a chuckle he hoped didn't betray his sudden anxiousness and gestured to the free space on the bench with his hand. He noticed how her e/c eyes followed the motion of his bony appendage and proceeded to stick his hand back into his pocket as nonchalantly as possible.

  
"so you met my brother, huh?" the question left him before he could remind himself she was here to be the one to ask him stuff, not the other way around. She didn't seem to mind though, nodding once.  
"I did, he's..."  
  
Oh, here it comes. Calm and quiet humans such as herself often found Papyrus-  
  
"...adorable," she smiled warmly as Sans curiously watched her for any signs of her being insincere, of her pretending to act nice to do her job. He found none.  
"He's such a nice guy, so friendly and kind, " she continued, running a hand through her h/c hair."And a monster ambassador too, it's a honor to have him here, really."  
"yeah, Papyrus is really cool, that's true."  
  
Sans' mouth was pretty much always stuck in a permanent grin, the corners of his mouth however were flexible enough to change it into shapes that could convey his emotions. Right now, it was a lazy smile that was becoming more and more relaxed by the minute - talking about his brother was something he was used to and it calmed him down.  
"so howsabout those questions, Y/n?" he used her name deliberately, tasting the sound of it in his mouth, looking at her to try and gauge by her expression if he pronounced it right. She seemed alright with it and it made Sans feel a tinge of pride for some reason.

  
"Oh, right, " she chuckled. Sans found the sound adorable. "One tends to forget about everything while talking about the Great Papyrus."  
  
There was no sarcasm in that statement, just a lighthearted joke. Sans grinned and then he realized something. He hasn't made a pun yet. Like, not even one. Stuff just came out of his mouth and he wasn't even thinking about it when, normally, he would always be wary of what he said not to let on what was really going on in his soul.  
  
He mentally waved away the dark thoughts and lifted a brow ridge, smiling a little wider at his new acquaintance.  
"that I can agree to, my bro's real cool, nothing _gets under his skin._ "  
"Yeah, I can believe that, it's really a good trait to hav-..e.."

  
He saw the exact moment when realization hit her. She looked at him, obviously having a momentary internal debate on whether he used the phrase literally or not. His expression, however, seemed to clue her in almost instantly.  
"Huh...hah," the corners of her mouth rose higher, her lips parted and, stars, if he thought that her giggles were cute, her laughter made him feel like his soul was wrapped in warmth.  It wasn't loud, but it was sincere and he could see that by the end of it some tension left her.

  
"Sans, " she said, making his soul jump in his chest."Come on, I'm trying to be professional. Don't think you can _escapula_ the survey by making puns."

  
The look on his face must have been amusing as the girl grinned widely, obviously proud of herself.  
"heh, not bad, kid," he chuckled and winked at her. He noticed the briefest moment when her eyes fixed on his facebones curiously, but she returned her eyes to his just as quickly.  
"Yeah, my mother's a doctor so I picked up a thing or two growing up. At least enough to think of a pun,"she shrugged, her smile still ghosting on her lips.  
"that's cool, but, you know," he looked at Y/n with halflidded eyesockets, trying for a cool and confident look, "for us to be pals it's not _demandible_ , i've got enough puns for two."  
"Oh my god," she facepalmed, her giggles, however, betraying her appreciation of his puns."Stop if you don't want me _tibia_ useless giggling puddle."  
"aw, you thing i'm that _humerus_ , buddy?" he cooed, chuckling, his eyes sparkling with delight while watching her shoulders tremble lightly as she hid her face in both her hands.  
"Stop," she asked, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. He looked at her, thinking if she was beginning to get mad at him for making her job difficult - after all, all he had to do was answer some questions, not distract her.  
"Stop now, I don't want to be _sternum_ with you."  
  
Now it was his turn to laugh, his worries gone just like that.

  
"alright," he huffed out another laugh and looked at her warmly."alright, waht'cha want to know?"  
There was a moment of silence as she looked to her notepad, then back to him. She then looked away, then, again, back to him. He was about to ask what's wrong when she spoke:

"Why did the chicken cross the playground?"

  
This girl.

  
He felt his grin widen and his eyes glow warmly as he curiously leaned towards her - just a little, an inch, to show her she caught his full attention.  
"Why?"  
"To get to the other slide.....Please kill me," she hid her face in her hands again and proceeded to shake her head as Sans gripped his nonexistent stomach in laughter - the joke was good, her behaviour was even better.

  
"You know what," she said with a defeated yet satisfied sigh."Forget about about all the other questions in the survey, I have only one for you."  
"shoot, buddy," he answered when his laughter quieted down.  
"Why did you read those books," she nodded her head in the direction of the bookshop,"to your brother?"  
"oh, uh, well," he shrugged, having almost completely forgotten that they were here for the signing."you see, there weren't many children's books in the Underground, so what you found was what you got, basically."  
  
Y/n nodded, understanding flashing in her eyes with a glint of something else that looked like very well hidden disappointment. Sans, of all people, knew what that looked like. So he continued, thinking that maybe the answer was not detailed enough for her.

  
"But, you know, Pap has different books, but those are his favorite when he wants a bedtime story or when he's feeling down. From my perspective, I guess I'm happy we got 'em, there are some good lessons in there that I'm glad my bro took to heart. The writer obviously doesn't treat readers as idiots even if the books are intended for kids and the characters are not the same cardboard cutouts you see in almost every book for children. The one or two drawings per chapter is a nice touch too, nice pastel colors and all...ah, i'm not really an expert tho," he reached back to scratch the back of his skull, failing to remember when his gaze drifted from the girl's face to her hands.

  
Realizing that, he looked back at her face to see that she was beaming. Her e/c eyes sparkled and there was a light blush on her cheeks, though maybe it was from being in the heat for too long.

  
"Thank you," she said in a voice that was laced with much more appreciation than he was prepared to hear for his lacking answer.  
"no problem, bud, " he nodded, shoving his hand in his pocket again.  
"Well, " Y/n looked to the bookstore, some of her anxiousness returning, "I should get going."

  
Sans did and didn't want to see her go. Her being gone would return his emotions to normal, but, at the same time, her being gone would return his emotions to normal.  
She stood up and, turning to him, gave him a smile - a small, yet sincere one.  
"It's obvious you love your brother very much, it's a pleasure to have you both here."

  
She then extended her hand and the warm fuzzy feeling Sans got from her words was quicky replaced by nervousness.  
In the past year he learned how unnerving his hands were to humans. He as a whole was unnerving to them, but handshakes were a custom so it was the only part of him that actually came in contact with people. To think that his whole life he greeted new pals with handshakes and now it had suddenly become kind of a big deal for him to shake someone's hand. It wasn't like he let evey interaction or handshake get to him, not at all, most of the time he was still chill, not worrying too much about it, but right now it felt like his soul fell to his nonexistent stomach and was pulsing there nervously.

  
"uh, yeah," he breathed out, trying to sound as laid-back as possible. "glad to have met you, pal, good to know someone here can _patella_ a joke."  
He took her delicate hand in his bony one and felt like a boulder fell from his shoulders when she squeezed his hand and shook it slightly without any sign of disgust, instead letting a giggle escape her lips.

  
"See you around, Sans," she said, letting go of his hand and walking off towards the bookstore.

  
He leaned back on the bench, closing his eyesockets, but almost immediately lazily opening one of them again to watch her cross the street and walk into the building.  
Not even ten minutes later, the sign on the bookstore's door was turned to show the four letters that got people moving in a hurry:

  
**OPEN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was from Sans' POV, I'll be alternating between his and Reader's.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading <3


	2. Pleased To Meet You. Again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader has a signing. Papyrus is beyond excited. Sans is glad. Everybody has a good time. Reader gets gifts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. GUYS. I'M SO SORRY.  
> I wanted to post this yesterday, but I...fell asleep. Without changing into my pajamas or setting an alarm.  
> Came to work barely on time today, had to run and pass people like an goddamn obstacle course. Good thing I wasn't late though, would have .overslept. my boundaries....I'm sorryXD  
> So, anyway, I'm sorry I didn't post this one yesterday. I'll post another one as an apology a bit later,as soon as I proofread and edit it. 
> 
> THANK YOU to everyone who read, gave kudos and bookmarked the story, I never expected it to get noticed or for it to be so well-received. You fill my soul with gratitude.  
> A special thank you to Punny+Fan, Somebody's Nobody, arirub, septembergirl910, a lovely Anon, Omfg, Nekopie and TheShadowOfASoldier for commenting, you all made me blush and squeel and type out the next chapter with even more determination <3 
> 
> And now it's time to finally return to the story!  
> ...  
> BUT SERIOUSLY HELP ME I'M TURNING INTO SANS.

Oh God. Oh God, oh God.

This was it, she thought.

The owner of the bookstore turned the sign and winked at her. Y/n hid behind a curtain they rented and installed for the event and sat at the table which was full of thin brochures. Those actually contained a small fragment from her new book, she thought it was appropriate to give those who chose to attend a little gift for showing up.

She never expected there to be this many people.

It was a good thing that the shop owner, Mrs. Patille, had the brilliant idea for her to go scout a little, using the last moments of her anonymity to her advantage. And she did.

She went out, talked to people, asked them questions and listened to their opinions. It was a bit dishonest of her, but no harm was done and it helped her anxiety a bit, so she was content. She was also happy to see that monsters and humans - especially children - were socializing even before the event and on more than one occasion she came up to a group only to ask a couple of questions, but stayed for 10 minutes straight chatting to all these interesting monsters and humans. She was an introvert by nature so she doubted she would have been happy if this - organizing events, dealing with a bunch of people, maneuvering through crowds - would be an everyday thing. But seeing all these different readers of different ages, races and different life experiences really made her feel...grateful. She was happy she could bring children joy, get their parents to feel nostalgic and even capture the interest of some teenagers - a very picky demographic to say the least.

So she mingled a bit, not stopping in one group for too long, just enough to get a feel of the crowd she would be talking to and signing stuff for later.

  
The high point of her little scouting mission, however, was meeting Papyrus and Sans.

  
Papyrus was undoubtedly the most pure, kind soul she had ever seen in her life and she agreed wholeheartedly with him when he said that him being at the signing should make the author of his favorite storybooks proud. His energy and positive outlook on everything were contagious and she even felt herself feeling more confident. After all, this cool skeleton was there to support her. She could hardly stop herself from confessing who she was then and there just to tell Papyrus how much it meant to her to have such an awesome guy appreciate her scribbles, as she modestly called them.

  
Sans, however, was the opposite. Talking to him made her feel calm about the whole event and his jokes made her stress level drop considerably. His deep, comforting voice somehow made her feel both calmer and excited. Not the stressful kind of excited, the kind when you find someone who you feel a connection with, like running into a close friend in the middle of town unexpectedly. And though Papyrus, with his towering height and long limbs made her beyond curious, Sans fascinated her. She sometimes had to make a conscious effort not to stare at how the bones of his skull moved as he closed his eyes or laughed or how his phalanges moved when he took his hand out of the pocket of his hoodie. She felt a ping of guilt and slight embarrassment when she was sure he caught her staring, but she made sure to let it show that it was just genuine curiosity before making herself concentrate on his eyes. It wasn't difficult, taking into account that his eyes were also so, so....

The front doors opened, letting the crowd in.

  
Y/n flinched and tensed. Damn it, this is no time to get lost in her own head.

  
Okay, okay. Nothing too scary, just all the same people she was talking to earlier. They're just all will be in a room now. Sitting there and staring at her. And asking questions. And then coming up to her for an autograph.

  
Oh crud.

  
Y/n pursed her lips and nervously tapped an abstract rhythm on the surface of the table with her index finger while the sound of footsteps and moving chairs filled the shop.  
"It's okay," she quietly reasoned with herself. "It's okay."

  
Just then, she heard it.

  
"SANS", Papyrus' voice couldn't be confused with anybody else's ever, "COME ON, YOU LAZYBONES, WE NEED TO POSITION OURSELVES SO THAT THE AUTHOR WILL SEE ME FROM MY GOOD SIDE.....EVEN THOUGH ALL OF MY SIDES ARE GOOD SIDES"  
"sure, Pap," she could hear Sans' voice too as it was distinctly deep and the brothers were now literally on the other side of the curtain.

  
Y/n couldn't help but smile, her anxiety giving way to a warm fuzzy feeling she got thinking of the brothers. Of all the people she met today, those two just somehow clicked with her. Papyrus, with his loud voice, his kindness and enthusiasm and Sans, with his love for his brother, his jokes and laid back attitude - the two were just wonderful guys.

  
_"Especially Sans"_ a quiet subconscious voice whispered in her mind and immediately her memory flashed her images of the stout skeleton - the glowing white pinpricks he had for eyes looking at her, the appreciation she saw in them when she decided to joke around with him, his laugh, his bony hand holding hers. 

Y/n pursed her lips, wide eyes staring to the side as if someone was looking at her accusingly.

 _"No-pe,"_ she was smiling like an idiot and she knew it. _"Nopenopenope,"_ she thought as she quietly snickered. Sometimes silly thoughts just flew into her head without reason and her imagination immediately snapped them up and ran wild with scenarios. This was one of those times. Good thing she was good at stopping herself. Most of the time.

  
"Okay everybody, quiet down, quiet down," she heard the voice of the shop owner and began to feel jittery again. Deciding to greet everyone on her feet, Y/n quietly stood up from her chair, straitened her dress, the light cardigan she now had on and adjusted her hair.

  
"Ladies and gentlemen of all ages," Mrs.Patille announced, making Y/n cringe a little - it wasn't THAT big of an event, she thought...she wanted to think - and take a deep breath to calm herself down.  
"Thank you for coming, I'm happy to see that there are so many of you here today. The person you came to see is a personal friend of mine and I'm happy to see them appreciated by so many of you."  
Y/n smiled warmly, Mrs. Patille was always so sweet to her.  
"You'll have the opportunity to ask questions and share your thoughts on their stories. I know that many of you may be shy about speaking up, but I'll let you in on a secret..."

  
Huh?

  
"...they're a total sweet dork! So there's no need to be nervous about meeting them, hee~ "

 

The room filled with laughter and chuckles as Y/n facepalmed and shook her head with a smile on her lips. The woman knew how to talk to an audience. Y/n, on the other hand...

  
"But maybe you already had the chance to learn that yourself~" Mrs. Patille said and Y/n could just picture the sly smile on her face while the people began to murmur. "So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the lovely writer herself..."

  
This was it. Y/n gulped and straightened her back.

  
"...F/n L/n!"

  
The curtain parted and Y/n had to make a conscious effort not to squint as the light hit her eyes.

  
"Y/N!!" Papyrus' voice was the first(or maybe loudest) one she heard in the ensuing racket as people recognized her.

  
"Hi, Papyrus, " she smiled widely at him and his brother, who were both sitting in the front row to the far right. Papyrus stared at her as if she suddenly turned into a unicorn, she could literally see stars in his eyes and a slight orange blush on his cheekbones (magic creatures were strange and amazing) and Sans, as far as she could tell from the expression on his face...bones was surprised, but as she met his eyes he chuckled and shrugged in a manner that said "You got me". Papyrus apparently sprayed himself with glitter, some of it got on Sans' hoodie which made Y/n smile even wider as Mrs.Patille handed her the microphone.

  
Taking the thing into her hand, she thanked gods, stars and everything out there that she had the opportunity to practice using it beforehand. Talking in front of a crowd wasn't her shtick and talking into a microphone was even more of a nervewreaker. The room wasn't that big and the microphone was tuned to make her voice just a bit louder so people in the last rows - and there were 12 of those, each having about 10 seats - could hear her better.

 

_"Oh GOD that's about 120 people and some of them are standing and- SHHH...don't think about that now. Don't panic."_

  
"Um, hello, everyone," she looked around, taking in the room and the various faces in it as the crowd had quieted down. _"Yeah, good opener, Captain Awkward."_

At least her voice didn't crack.

  
"I'm sorry to have somewhat deceived you before the event, that wasn't planned. I'm too awkward to plan something like that, actually, Mrs. Patille had to practically throw me out to get some fresh air because I was having jitters," she chuckled together with many of the people(she thought she heard Sans among them) in the room. _"Ok, that was better."_ Being honest was good, it build a connection with an audience, she told herself.  
"So, as you know, I'm Y/n and I'm the one who wrote the books you or your children, hopefully, like," she smiled warmly as she saw that a little girl tugged her mother's sleeve while pointing at Y/n enthusiastically. With her peripheral vision she could see that Papyrus was not that far off. That somehow gave her confidence.  
"I'm so very, very thankful to you for coming here, especially in this kind of weather," she continued, spotting some people taking photos of her and tapping away at their phones - no doubt her mug would be on Twitter, Facebook and whatever else the cool kids are using today. She already had a little interview with a journalist, so she was certain that she was safe from at least that.  
"Anyway, I'm sure it would be more interesting if I'm not just standing here monologuing, so let's start with your questions and opinions," she nodded to Mrs.Patille, who came forward holding a wireless microphone and the people in the room started to raise their hands. 

 

"Well then," she leaned on the table with her back in an imitation of being relaxed and calm. Fake it 'till you make it, indeed. "Each person has a maximum amount of two questions, we'll go for round two when every willing person has spoken. Let's start with...ah," she giggled quietly, "..with the charming skeleton who's so eager he's about to dislocate his shoulder."

  
Mrs.Patille gave the mic to Papyrus, who dramatically cleared his nonexistent throat before speaking:  
"HELLO AGAIN, Y/N!"

  
Y/n had to stifle a laugh, opting for a wide smile instead.  
"Hi again, Papyrus," she answered, nodding to him in greeting. Her eyes rested on Sans and she saw that he understood that the greeting extended to him too. He also looked like he was grateful that she let Papyrus speak first.

  
"SO IF YOU SAID EARLIER THAT YOU'LL BE FRIENDS WITH ME...AND YOU'RE THE AUTHOR...WERE YOU JUST SAYING THAT AS PART OF YOUR MASTERFUL COVER OR ARE WE REALLY FRIENDS?"

  
Looking at Papyrus' attentive expression, at his eye sockets that were squinted as if he was solving a riddle, Y/n couldn't help but laugh - a joyful, warm sound.  
"No, Papyrus, I said that sincerely, we're friends."

  
Papyrus seemed like his joy could power a powerplant for a few months and Y/n couldn't help but be happy that the skeleton valued their newly created friendship this much.  
"Is there something else, Papyrus?"

"YES. YES, THERE IS," he said proudly, his usual demeanor returning,"I CANNOT HELP BUT NOTICE, YOU ARE VERY YOUNG AND THE EARLIEST BOOK OF YOURS IS DATED EIGHT YEARS AGO. WERE YOU SO TALENTED THAT YOU BEGAN TO WRITE IN KINDERGARTEN?"

  
Y/n felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, she didn't consider herself to be particularly talented, just passionate about writing and very, very lucky.  
"Oh, I'm not _that_ young," she smiled and remembered to pry her eyes from the skeletons, talking to the rest of the audience."The truth is, my school's English teacher, Mrs.Haley had once complained in class that her daughter, Nadia, always wanted new bedtime stories and the next lesson I brought her some of my stories as well as a story I wrote especially for her daughter. Both her and Nadia apparently liked them and Mrs.Haley was the one to convince me to publish some of my works in a column in a children's magazine and it somehow led to me writing whole books. The first one, as you know, was a collection of smaller stories - they were the ones I gave to my teacher."

  
She turned back to Papyrus and gave a little shrug, smiling shyly.  
"I honestly think I got really lucky that people noticed my stories and liked them enough for me to be able to publish actual books."

  
"THERE WAS NO LUCK INVOLVED," although Papyrus no longer had the mic his voice could be heard as clearly as ever, "YOUR TALES ARE VERY GOOD, Y/N. SANS LIKES THEM TOO, ISN'T THAT RIGHT, BROTHER?"

  
Y/n turned her head to Sans who obviously didn't expect becoming a part of the conversation, and for a second Y/n could see his relaxed demeanor crack as he looked at his brother with a surprised expression on his facial bones. And was there a drop of sweat on his forehead? Nah, had to be a trick of the light. The stout skeleton seemed to regain his cool momentarily and looked at her with a smile, his eyesockets now half-lidded. Y/n found it fascinating how, because he had no lids, his supraorbital process seemed to...slide(?), move(??) or stretch(???) to imitate the expression.

  
Magic, man. Magic. Magic man-STOP MAKING PUNS IN YOU MIND, WOMAN.

  
"sure, 's good," he said nonchalantly and shrugged, looking at Y/n and knowing that she already heard the long version of his answer. She nodded understandingly, if she was in his position she wouldn't bother to speak more than necessary in front of an audience either.

  
"Thank you, the both of you," she shot them a warm look before looking to the crowd again - as much as she would absolutely love to spend this event talking to the skeleton brothers, she was sure other people would find that a bit frustrating.

  
"Well then, let's next ask..."

 

 

*******

 

 

The event was coming to a close, questions were answered, opinions were listened to, theories proven right, disproved or left ambiguous. Photos were taken and the last people in line were getting autographs.

  
Her throat was sore. Her anti-photo nature was past anxious. Her hand hurt. She wasn't used to being the center of attention nor did she crave it.  
But human and monster kids were running around happily, human and monster teens were discussing who would post what on blogs or forums and even some of the parents swapped numbers and were making plans for playdates. That was what mattered.

  
When the last of the people got her signatures and were escorted out the door by a sweet but uncompromising Mrs.Patille, Y/n could finally take a breath and lean back in her chair, stretching.

  
"I'm going to the cafe, sweetie," the woman said in a hurry, no doubt eager to help her son Tom and her husband Sean in dealing with customers in the coffee shop part of the store. Judging by the sounds, there was a bunch of people there, Y/n was glad they had the idea to put extra tables and chairs on the sidewalk outside the shop.  
"Sure, Mrs.Patille," she smiled at her friend and stood up, "Can I maybe help you? I'm still your employee after all."  
"Oh shush!" the woman seemed to be genuinely offended."There's no way you're running with orders after all of that, Y/n. I can see you're exhausted. Escape through the back door and get some rest, sweetie, you did wonderful."  
"Thank you so much, for everything," Y/n said sincerely, looking at Mrs.Patille with a tired smile. The woman giggled and ran off, no doubt happy about the influx of customers.

A minute later, Y/n could hear her chipper voice greeting customers. Such an extroverted person.

  
Y/n was not an extroverted person. She was an introvert and although she was more or less OK with occasional public events, this event that had all eyes and smartphone-cameras on her was something she had to hide away after.

  
She took two big bags that were filled with letters and even gifts from fans and made her way to the shop's employee entrance.

 

 

***

 

 

It was evening when Y/n got to the bags.

  
When she arrived home she put them to the side and took a long shover, then ate her first meal of the day(finally not too nervous to eat) and wasted a few hours on the internet looking up nothing in particular and just calming her nerves.

  
Now she was sitting on the floor, drawings and letters surrounding her - from colorful drawings of characters of her children's books to actual fanfictions of her more teenage-oriented book series. To the right from her were a few gifts that weren't drawings or letters.

  
1\. A clay figurine in the form of one of her animal characters - Schild the Tortoise. It was painted really nicely if one considered that it was given to her by a 5-year-old. It even had googly-eyes glued to it. The googly-eyes made it look cute, funny and a tiny bit creepy. Y/n loved it.

  
2\. A...what were they called again? Little japanese crocheted dolls? Amigurumi? One of those, and really well-made. It was a doll of one of the dragons - Carnelian - in Y/n a bit more adult fantasy story, it had little wings and all! It even had little green crystals for eyes and tiny indents and scars on it's wings. The girl who gave it to her said that, like the the character, she had difficulties coping with her own scars on her arms and shoulders after she got into a car accident. Reading about him getting his confidence back, she said, not in one single day or in one single act, but every single day in various situations, important or fleeting, made her cheer for him and believe in herself more.  
Y/n was certain she was teary-eyed when she received the little knitted beast.

  
3\. A whole collection of her animal characters accompanied by a representation of the little girl who made them. They were made from socks and stuffed with something akin to sand and looked like sad, fat versions of themselves. Those Y/n would put on her fridge, maybe that would stop her nightly trips to the thermally insulated compartment.

  
4\. A stylized map of the land where her fantasy book took place. It was similar to the one she drew and featured in the book, by this one was big, 1 meter in height and width and was colored with colored pencils and watercolors. She would definitely find a place for it on her wall.

  
5\. A plush toy lion that had custom-made details to make it look like one of her animal characters  -  Leon the Lion. (Yes, yes she was aware that it basically translated to Lion the Lion in Spanish, still refused when the editor advised they change the name.) Papyrus was the one to give her the toy, stating that he (Sans apparently helped too) made it and that the bandana on the lion's neck was made out of the same material they used for the scarf that was part of an outfit Papyrus called his "battle body". Y/n had no idea what he was talking about, but the present itself and the obvious thought the brothers put into it warmed her heart.  
  
She took the lion into her hands and petted it absentmindedly, thinking where would be the perfect place to put it. Just then, her fingers felt something strange and she turned it around to find a crumpled piece of paper attached to the bandana. Confused, she took the paper that looked like it was actually a torn piece of a receipt, and unfolded it.  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
~~Great Value Spaghetti Pasta, 1 lb, 4ct..............................$3.88~~  
~~Heinz Tomato Twin Pack 50.5 oz Ketchup, 2 Pk..............$6.88~~  
~~Subtotal....$10.76~~  
~~Total.........$10.76~~  
XXX XXXX XXXX Sans  
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to Walmart's webpage to make sure my spaghetti and ketchup prices were accurate. This is my life now.  
> I love it.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading <3


	3. Incoming Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Sans start texting. Reader's heart gets broken. No angst ensues because of that though. There will be a bit of angst on Sans' part, however, because nightmares suck.  
> WARNING: Pun overload.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who decided to read this, to everyone who left kudos, bookmarked and commented - you are all precious cinnamon rolls and I don't deserve you <3 You could say I'm...pundeserving of such attention.  
> Hee...I'm shutting up now.

Y/n stared at the torn receipt and the number that was written on it with a blue ballpen.

Sans had given her his number.

This was...AMAZING!

Her grin was so big it hurt. God, she was so excited and nervous about the event that when they came by her table she forgot to ask the skeleton brothers for a way to contact them. She remembered only when they were already gone and spend the better part of the evening cursing herself for missing an opportunity to get to know them better.

She grabbed her phone from the pocket of the comfy pants she usually wore at home and unblocked the screen.

It was 22:14.

Was it too late to text Sans?

Well, from what she gathered about the skeleton, if it was, he seemed like a guy who would just ignore the text and respond tomorrow. Or, should she say...

Deciding to act before she lost confidence, Y/n quicky pulled up the messaging menu and tapped Sans' number before writing:

Y/n 22:15 : Hey there!  
Sorry for texting you so late, just found the number. So I guess Papyrus really is a real fan of spaghetti, huh? I gather he likes it with lots of ketchup?  
If this is too late of a time for texting, you can just answer _tomarrow_ , no pressure;)  
-Y/n

She looked at the sent message, smiling like an idiot and feeling weirdly proud that she didn't chicken out of contacting the skeleton. Somehow the thought of talking to Sans wasn't making her introverted subconscious sigh in annoyance even after a day like this.  
Y/n began to carefully gather the drawings and letters when her phone got a notification. Curious, she unlocked the screen.

Sans 22:18 : hey, nice pun there)) i could tell you one about air conditioners, but i'm not sure you're a _fan_ of those.  
and yeah, Pap really likes spaghetti, but the ketchup is mostly for me.

Y/n almost squeeled. It was not often that making new friends made her feel so good immediately, she was always friendly but usually it took a bit of time for her to get significantly attached to a new person. Without thinking much about it, she replied.

Y/n 22:20 : It seems that I still know too little about you guys, we should _ketchup_ sometime. Also, if Papyrus isn't against it, could you give him my number?

Aaand send.  
Wait. Did she just ask Sans out on a date? No, no, she talked about the both of them so he wouldn't see as that. Then why did it sound like that in her mind? Goddamn it, she was an awkward potato. Good thing she wrote what she wrote and not what she thought.

***ding***

Her eyes were glued to the screen again.

Sans 22:23 : against it? he's over the moon with joy, he spend the last three hours trying to guess your number by dialing every number with the area's code sequentially. you should'a seen how angry he was when his phone battery died. or maybe he was angry bc i told him to find an _outlet_ for his anger.

Before Y/n could text back, however, she got another message.

Papyrus 22:24 : HELLO Y/N,  
MY BROTHER GAVE ME THIS NUMBER, I DO HOPE THAT THIS IS NO JOKE AND IT IS REALLY YOU WHO THIS NUMBER IS REGISTERED TO.  
WITH THE GREATEST OF REGARDS,  
THE GREAT PAPYRUS

Y/n chuckled, a soft "Aaw" escaping her lips. Papyrus was just so sweet. She also wondered if Sans had maybe permanently set his brother's typing preferences so that he always wrote with capital letters or if it was Papyrus himself who did that. Either way, it suited the tall skeleton. Y/n decided to text him back first to reassure him.

Y/n 22:25 : Hi, Papyrus!  
Yep, it's really Y/n. Here's proof - you like spaghetti, you wore red boots today and the bandana on Leon is made from the same cloth one of your scarfs is made from.  
And thank you again for the present, I love it <3

She sent the text and returned to their conversation with Sans.

Y/n 22:27 : Just texted your brother. Hope he believes I'm really me :D  
Sans 22:27 : he does. he's real excited)  
Sans 22:28 : now he's screaming.  
Y/n 22:28 : Screaming?O_o  
Sans 22:29 : oh now you've done it, pal  
Y/n 22:29 : What? What did I do?  
Y/n 22:29 : I swear, Sans, I didn't write anything to upset him!  
Sans 22:30 : wait for it  
Sans 22:32 : wait for it  
Sans 22:34 : wfi  
Y/n 22:34 : Just tell me, I'm freaking out here, did I somehow say something monsters consider insulting?  
Y/n 22:34 : Sans!

And then she got the text from Papyrus. She mustered up her courage and peaked into her incoming messages, anxious about how she may have offended the taller skeleton.  
What she got was a avalanche of a message.

Papyrus 22:34 : DEAR Y/N, I AM HAPPY THAT IT IS REALLY YOU.  
YOU ARE, AGAIN, VERY WELCOME.  
HOWEVER, I HAVE NOTICED THE HEART EMOTICON YOU HAVE SENT ME AND MUST INFORM YOU THAT I HAVE NO ROMANTIC INTEREST IN YOU WHATSOEVER.  
Y/N, PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, VALUE OUR FRIENDSHIP AND WILL DO ANYTHING A GOOD FRIEND WOULD DO TO HELP YOU MEND YOUR BROKEN HEART.

  
Papyrus 22:36 : YOU'RE A SPLENDID HUMAN, Y/N, AND YOU WILL FIND SOMEBODY. SOMEBODY NOT AS GREAT AS ME, BUT MAYBE CLOSE. MAYBE.  
DO NOT FALL INTO DESPAIR, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE TO SUPPORT YOU!

  
Papyrus 22:37 : IN INTEREST OF PRESERVING YOUR REPUTATION AND NOT MAKING THINGS AWKWARD BETWEEN US I WILL ACT AS IF THIS MISUNDERSTANDING NEVER HAPPENED.

.....  
...............  
........................  
wat?

  
She brought up the conversation with Sans and texted just that.

  
Y/n 22:38 : .........................................wut?  
Sans 22:39 : heh, just play along, kid, won't you? it'll be easier than explaining this to Papyrus, trust me, i can feel it _in my bones_.  
Y/n 22:39 : Ummm...okay. Sure. But you'll have to explain this to ME later.  
Sans 22:40 : deal

To say that Y/n was amused was to say nothing at all. She quickly texted Papyrus:

Y/n 22:41 : Ok, I understand. Can I still send you heart emojis platonically?  
Papyrus 22:41 : YES PLEASE!!!!  
Y/n 22:42 : <3 <3 <3  
Papyrus 22:42 : YES, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS OVERJOYED BY YOUR DISPLAY OF PLATONIC AFFECTION!  
Papyrus 22:42 : IT IS ALSO PAST MY BEDTIME  
Papyrus 22:42 : GOODNIGHT, Y/N!  
Y/n 22:42 : Goodnight, Papyrus, sweet dreams!

***ding***

Sans 22:43 : have to go read Pap a bedtime story. one of yours, actually, writing really is your _calling_ )) text ya later if i don't fall asleep  
Y/n 22:43 : Aaw, I'm flattered. Even though I know it was a pun. Don't stay up for my sake, you can help me _punderstand_ how in the hell Papyrus got the idea that I wanted to date him tomorrow.  
Sans 22:44 : you meant _tomarrow._  
Y/n 22:44 : Hey, I opened with that!  
Sans 22:44 : get used to it  
Y/n 22:45 : Pun plagiarism is _punishable_.  
Sans 22:45 : i _sansarily_ apologize  
Y/n 22:45 : You're awful :'D Go read Papyrus his bedtime story

After receiveng what had to be an emoji with the most shit-eating grin available, Y/n chucked and realized that she was still sitting on the floor.

  
She gathered all of her presents and found a place for them - she put the letters into a storage box, attached as many drawings as she could to her fridge, put the fat sock-dolls on the fridge together with the clay tortoise. The amigurumi dragon was placed on her writing desk, the map hanged on her livingroom wall and Leon the Lion now sat comfortably on her nightstand.  
She checked her phone from time to time, but there was nothing from Sans so she decided that he probably went to sleep.

  
Changing into her pajamas, Y/n climbed into her bed taking her laptop with her.

 

 

*******

 

Sans' POV

He woke up with a sharp breath, sitting up in his bed.

  
His ribs were hurting from the panicked, desperate breaths he was taking while his hands were clutching his ribs and sternum, trying to make sure there was no gash there. His whole skeleton shook from the mental anguish his nightmares usually brought, his skull was covered in beads of cold sweat and his left eye was glowing a bright cyan blue color that illuminated his otherwise dark room.

  
The sound of his labored breathing was the only noise in the room and Sans listened closely, instinctively trying to make sure that...

  
No, no one was there. He had to pull himself together.

  
Little by little, his breathing calmed down and his eyes returned to normal, white pinpricks appearing in his eye sockets.  
With a tired breath, he forced himself to lie back down. A moment later, he curled into an almost fetal position and squeezed his eye sockets shut, painfully aware of the state his soul was in right now and that he could never fall asleep like that.  
With an annoyed sigh, he reached out and grabbed his phone from the chair he used as a nightstand and checked the time.

  
03:03

  
Spectacular.

  
With a sad tiredness of someone who was used to spending many of his nights in a similar manner Sans started to go through his phone. Eventually, he opened his conversation with Y/n. He scrolled up and read it from the beginning, the corners of his mounth forming a bit wider smile each time he read a pun from her or read through her panicked messages when she though she had angered Papyrus.  
He had meant to answer her, but when he was done with Papyrus' bedtime story he decided that she probably went to sleep already.

  
Not really thinking about it much, he texted her, hoping that the text wouldn't wake her up.

Sans 03:17 : it's kinda hard to explain in writing, really. you met Pap in person, is it really that hard to imagine he could misinterpret things a bit sometimes? anyway, don't worry about it, he's real cool and won't mention the topic now that it's all cleared up. hope i didn't wake ya up.

He hit send and was about to open a game on his phone when he suddenly got a reply.

Damn, he did wake her up.  
Sans felt bad for waking Y/n, she had a long day as it was. He opened the message with a frown, fully expecting a "Why did you wake me up for this? I told you to text me tomorrow dumbass".

Y/n 03:19 : Yeah, I guess you're right. It did take me by surprise though!  
So why are you not sleeping? I thought you were such a natural at it you could do it with _both your eyesockets closed_ ;)

A shaky, pleased sight escaped him before he could catch it and he shook his head, smiling at the phone. He could feel both his soul and his bones beginning to relax a bit.

Sans 03:20 : sleep? there's _a nap_ for that. but srsly why aren't you asleep, bud?

Somehow, it felt strange and even a bit wrong to call Y/n "kid" or "bud". Sans couldn't quite place why it was strange so he decided to go along with his usual habits and drop trying calling her that if the feeling that the nicknames didn't fit her didn't go away in a little while.

Y/n 03:23 : Couldn't decide whether to accept a job in mattress sales right now or maybe _sleep on it_.  
Y/n 03:23 : Got lost on the World Wide Web. Also, sometimes can't sleep after big events. So why are you up?

The skeleton thought for a bit. He tried writing a few puns, but deleted them. He could just imagine Y/n, her e/c, honest eyes looking at him. Surpising himself, he wrote the truth.

  
Sans 03:28 : had a bad dream.  
Y/n 03:28 : Wanna talk about it?  
Sans 03:28 : not really  
Y/n 03:29 : Ok, wanna be bad children and stay up texting?  
Y/n 03:29 : _Lettuce_ continue with the puns?;)  
Sans 03:30 : i've got a few puns about pizza, but they're too _cheesy_  
Y/n 03:32 : Oh, cheese puns! This will be a _bries_.  
Sans 03:33 : did you just google that?  
Y/n 03:33 : Noooo  
Sans 03:34 : don't make me come over there and _puninstall_ your internet browser

They texted for a solid couple of hours, sometimes finding topics to discuss, other times just throwing puns back and forth or sending eachother funny pictures.

  
Aside from sometimes Papyrus, Sans never had someone to talk to after he had a nightmare and although Y/n had no idea of the nature of his bad dreams and wasn't even physically there with him it still felt like a real connection. And Sans couldn't get enough, continuing to type even as his eye sockets became half-lidded, his vision blurry and his phalanges began to miss letters, no doubt making his texts look like he was drunk or something. On the bright side, Y/n's texts didn't look much better. Still, they were filled with kindness and good(and bad) humour and Sans in his sleepy mind thanked the stars that she was there with him.

  
When the sun came up Sans was asleep again, tightly clutching his phone in his bony hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Sans is too lazy to even type a full smiley, I mean come on.


	4. A Long Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader has a long day. Sans wants to cheer her up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this one has more mistakes than usual, I usually proof read a chapter several times, but I really need to catch a train. But I didn't want to leave you guys without an update :'D So excuse the mistakes, I'll get on that as soon as I'm back, k? K.
> 
> UPD: Fixed the mistakes! Most of them at least, you can now read without cringing too much.  
> Thank you so much to everyone who reads this story, who gives kudos and who comments. I can't stress enough how thankful I am for the feedback and the support. I also really enjoy reading all your opinions on the situations and characters! <3

The sun was shining. Birds were chirping. Flowers were blooming.

  
On days like these girls like Y/n were...

  
A tired wreck.  
  
Like it often happens, somehow multiple things decided to go wrong on the same day.  
  
First, her smoke detector didn't shut up all night, sounding the alarm in spite of there being absolutely no fire or smoke at all.

  
As she was not tall enough to just reach it with her outstretched hand, she had to jump on a chair everytime she wanted to shut the damned thing off. At about four AM, on her n-th time jumping onto the chair while being stressed out and sleep-deprived, she lost her balance and the chair fell down making her reconnect with the floor in a rather violent manner. She didn't break anything, but she was sure there would be bruises later.

  
At 5 AM her patience ran out completely  and she decided that she would take the thing apart and find out what was the problem rather than wait 'till the house manager came to work. She would gladly rather pay the landlord a fee if she broke the damn thing than take this any longer.  
Screwing the alarm off the ceiling, she climbed off the chair and carefully began disassembling the thing. On the smoke sensor itself there was what looked like cobweb, a dead moth and a little something else. Moth larvae.

  
Fucking worms were crawling in her smoke detector.

  
At that point she was too exhausted to be grossed out or even care. She just took care of the insects, reassembled the smoke detector back together and stuck it back to the ceiling.

  
The remaining hour and a half that she slept felt like a minute and a half and she was almost in tears when her alarm clock went off.  
  
Second, her landlord said that there was a new policy in place, so if she didn't want to move out of her apartment, say, right now(he said to her with a sickeningly sweet hypocritical smile), she had to pay several hundred dollars, as the deposit sum for the apartment went up because of this-and-that. Reading over the new policy, she handed the landlord the money and they revised their contract. It was certainly a pleasure doing business with her for the landlord. Y/n, on the other hand, wasn't as pleased when she said her goodbyes and watched him go on to bring the "good news" to her neighbor. But moving right this second was even less preferable than losing money, even though it was quite an amount of money.  
  
Third, it was actually the day of her exam and after an "exciting" night and a "pleasant" morning meeting with the landlord, she was sure she wasn't on her 100% game. Surprisingly enough, she was more or less satisfied with herself by the end of the exam and as she walked out of the lecture hall her only thought was that she did all she could and she didn't care about anything else at this point.  
  
Fourth, her friend called her and the next three hours were spent by Y/n hearing out her friend's problems. And it wasn't like she didn't care, she did. A lot. She was invested in her friend's lives, but in this situation it wasn't about dealing with the problem, it was just about letting her friend vent. And Y/n gladly did. It's just that it was tiring after a day like this. Not like she would let that show, not right now. Y/n was very adept with dealing with her problems on her own, all the while having the strength to offer her loved ones gentle smiles.  
  
Fifth, he mother called. Her grandmother was in the hospital. Nothing major, but surgery was required and her mother would contact Y/n later in the evening to tell her how it went.  
  
So now it wasn't even six PM, the sun didn't even think about starting to set(it was summer, after all), and Y/n was feeling EXHAUSTED. But, at the same time, she was so stressed out and worried about her grandmother that she couldn't just go to sleep.

  
She was sitting in a coffee shop, a hot cup of coffee with milk by her side. Her friend had just left, reassuring Y/n that her grandma would be fine and asking her to keep in touch, apologizing profusely that she had to leave at such a moment. Y/n just smiled and waved her off, reminding her friend that she was there when it really mattered plenty of times and that her train wouldn't wait for her.  
  
So there she was, just sitting there, absentmindedly scrolling through her Facebook and UnderNet newsfeeds, not sure if she wanted to go hide away from the world in her apartment or maybe go for a walk to calm her nerves.  
Just then, her phone buzzed, alerting her that she got a message in her UnderNet messenger. Her expression immediately softened as she saw who it was from.  
The sender had a photo of a stout skeleton in a blue zip-up hoodie, black pants and pink slippers sitting on a couch as his profile pic. The laziest profile pic ever.  
  
Sans 17:53 -  hey there, bud)  
so how's your day going?  
  
Y/n smiled warmly as if Sans could somehow see how glad she was that he texted. They have been texting everyday since the signing, that made today the sixth day she was subjected to horrible and amazing puns and stories about what Papyrus put in his new pasta recipe. Sans was a great guy to talk to and Y/n found herself being relaxed and a bit excited when talking to the stout skeleton or asking him questions.  
She quickly typed her reply and hit Send, her free hand grabbing her cup of coffee and bringing it to her lips.  
  
Y/n 17:54 - Hi, Sans ^^  
Day's been...let's say it was eventful. The exam was ok I think. At least I answered something on every question. Hope that the majority of it was correct.  
  
***bzz***  
  
Sans 17:55 - don't worry about it, kid, i'm sure your grade won't be below _C-level_  
  
Y/n snorted quietly, shaking her head and began typing when Sans wrote something else.  
  
Sans 17:55 - so, "eventful", huh? everything alright there with you?  
  
Y/n looked at the screen, contemplating. She didn't want to bore the skeleton explaining the whole day in a huge text, but she also felt that they had some unspoken agreement about either telling the truth or nothing at all. For example, a couple of times  Sans told her that he had a bad dream, but refused to tell her what it was about instead of lying that it was about his ketchup turning into mustard or something. She couldn't make sure, of course, that he wasn't lying about having nightmares, but Sans didn't strike her as a guy who would go through the trouble of telling her a lie about something he didn't plan discussing further in the first place. Did that make sense?  
"Or, rather, sa-"  
  
***bzz***  
  
Sans 17:58 - Y/n?  
  
Y/n almost facepalmed and quickly replied.  
  
Y/n 17:58 - Sorry, I kinda got lost in my own head ':D  
I don't even know why I do that, my thoughts don't even make much _sans_.  
  
Sans 17:59 - heh, good one))  
but seriously, you ok?  
  
Y/n sighed. Oh great, now she got her friend worried. She could tell that when he wrote "seriously" without chopping it up to shorten it that things got real.  
  
Y/n 18:00 - Yeah, yeah, just kind of morally drained I guess? And a bit worried, my grandma is having surgery right now, but it's nothing major. So don't worry, Sans, I'm ok.  
Y/n 18:01 - And thank you for caring, means a lot, really  
  
She internally debated sending him a heart emoticon. Sure, she had sent them to Papyrus, lots of them, but that was Papyrus. It was like sending hearts to an adorable nephew or best friend or something. Sans was a friend also, but somehow he was...

  
Oh she was overthinking it.

  
She sent the stupid heart because he deserved it and she meant it and it angered her how big of a deal she was making out of it.  
A moment later, he replied.  
  
Sans 18:02 - wanna hang out? we don't have to talk about it or anything, just, you know  
Sans 18:02 - ever been to grillby's II?  
  
Usually she would take a moment to really listen to herself if she wanted to socialize, to go somewhere or not. With Sans, she typed without thinking.

  
Y/n 18:02 - Been there a couple of times, actually, great place! The new _hottest_ place in town.  
Y/n 18:03 - If you're not too busy I'd be happy to. I'm actually not that far away from there now. Text me when you'll be there, I'll walk right over.  
Sans 18:03 - be there in a sec  
Y/n 18:03 - OK!  
Sans 18:04 - i'm there  
  
Y/n blinked, confusion written clearly on her face. Then it hit her. He must have been there already! That silly skeleton, always messing around. But, Y/n thought, if he was there, surely he had to be there with his friends or something. She wasn't really in the mood to meet several new faces and she definitely didn't want to ruin the group's dynamic if Sans was having a night out with friends.  
  
Y/n 18:05 - Wait a sec. If you're there with friends I don't want to intrude and all! You have a nice evening and we'll talk later :)  
Sans 18:05 - Y/n. come over to grillby's, come on, buddy  
Sans 18:06 - also, there was a dyslexic monster here. but he walked out of the _bra_ a while ago.  
  
Y/n rolled her eyes and smiled.  
  
Y/n 18:06 - Ok, ok, I'll be there in 4 minutes.  
  
Finishing her coffee, she took out her compact mirror and freshened up before standing up and walking out.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Y/n crossed the street, making her way to the pub. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Sans standing beside the door. His back was to the wall, his eyes were fixed on his hand which he held up and was looking over with a thoughtful expression.

  
Some people who were walking in front of Y/n, while passing him, glanced at him with expressions varying from curiosity to fear. Sans didn't seem bothered by it, he once said that he was so used to it he didn't even notice it much anymore. Y/n, however, felt a tug on her heart. Neither Sans nor Papyrus deserved to be looked at with fear or any negativity, they were the kindest of souls.

  
"Hey there," she softly spoke while coming up to the skeleton, snapping him out of his thoughts. The monster turned his head to her, surprise flashing in his eye sockets for but a moment before his usual relaxed expression returned to his facial bones.

  
"oh, hey there, bud, " he stuck his hand into his pocket and turned to her. It was the first time they've met while both standing up, she realized.

She saw at the signing that Sans was considerably shorter than Papyrus, almost(but not quite) reaching his younger brother's shoulder. But Papyrus was huge, his towering height being even somewhat intimidating in the first few minutes of their first meeting, Y/n remembered. Sans was, however, about her height. She wore heels today, so casting those out of the equation would make him about two or, at most, three inches taller than her.  
That, however, made it extremely easy to look into the little white lights that were his eyes.

  
"looking good today," the skeleton smiled and Y/n felt a stupid grin making its way to her face.  
"Thanks, Sans, looking handsome yourself," she replied sincerely, suppressing a giggle when she saw the monster chuckle somewhat bashfully. And was there a slight blue hue on his cheekbones?  
Before Y/n had the chance to look closely, Sans turned around, opening the door to the pub.  
"ladies first," he spoke, giving her a charming smile and although Y/n didn't know if that blue hue on his cheekbones was a trick of the light, she knew that the color red was definitely creeping onto her own cheeks.  
Hoping the skeleton wouldn't notice this slight change of color, she flashed him a thankful, appreciative smile and walked into the bar.  
  
  
**Sans' POV**

  
She flashed him a smile and it was so...Stars, he felt that cheekbones were blue.

  
As she walked in front of him, he took a deep breath, hoping the air circulating through his skull would cool him down.  
Letting the door close, he walked beside her, not taking his eye sockets of her. She looked beautiful. Tired, but beautiful, he thought as he automatically greeted the monsters who noticed his presence with a practiced relaxed tone.

  
She was worried, he saw it. He wouldn't have been able to notice it if he didn't know first-hand how it was, to hide worries under smiles. It was more that he felt it than saw it.  
He wanted to ask her, to know how she's been, to comfort her if she'd have that from him.

  
He settled for finding a place for them to sit, for starters.

  
Grillby's II was bigger that the original. Not much bigger, but noticeably so.  Good thing, too, because the place quickly became popular and now was almost always full. Grillby even hired a couple of helpers.  
They were in luck, however. A booth near the window was empty and Sans led Y/n there.  
As they took a seat, he nodded to Grillby in a voiceless greeting and sure enough the fire elemental stepped away from the counter to bring them the menu.

  
"Thank you," said Y/n, her delicate hands taking the menu from the pub's owner, her e/c eyes reflecting his flames, making them shine beautifully.  
Sans wanted to smack himself. Get it together, skeleton. Tonight's not about that. It's never gonna be about that.

  
"thanks, Grillbz," he said as he took the menu from the fire elemental. "You can already bring over the ketchup and..a..?" he looked over to Y/n.  
"Lemon water," she said, smiling at both Sans and the Grillby.  
The bartender nodded and went back to his place at the bar, relaying the order to a bunny lady who was working as a waitress.  
Sans left the menu on the table and slumped in his seat, looking at Y/n with curiosity.

  
"so, wanna tell me the whole story of what got you in a _sour_ mood?"  
Y/n put down her menu, giving a quiet laugh.

  
He realized he missed that laugh, that smile. It was nice knowing he made her smile while texting, seeing and hearing it was a whole different experience.

  
She sighed, her smile now being somewhat unsure, her eyes darting to the side, looking out the window as she spoke.

  
"I don't want to bore you, it's nothing major, Sans," she looked back at him again. He looked at her with an expression that urged her to continue. She chuckled silently.  
"Well, you already know that my grandma is in surgery right now. But, as I said, it's nothing major."  
"it's ok to worry," Sans nodded, catching her eyes with his own."i worry everytime Pap is a bit late coming home," he shrugged a little.

  
She smiled gently, warmly. Sans' felt his soul tighten almost painfully in response.  
"I know, I know, of course it's normal," she cocked her head slightly to the side, "and of course you worry about Papyrus, you're such a wonderful brother."  
Sans couldn't help but smile happily at that. His brother mattered the world to him and such a compliment was something that hit exactly the right spot in his soul.  
Just then, the waitress brought the drink and condiment they ordered. He watched as Y/n eyes rested on the bunny's face as she thanked her in a soft voice and ordered a portion of potato wedges.  
He ordered fries for himself and, as the waitress walked off, opened the bottle of ketchup and took a sip. He then noticed Y/n staring at him with the most confused expression he had yet to see on her. He nearly spat the ketchup out in a fit of laughter, but stifled it, instead smiling slyly at her while setting the bottle on the table.

  
"what's _tomator_?"  
"Pffff..."

  
Just like that, she was out of her stupor and laughing, pressing her hand to her lips, stifling the sound but failing to stop her shoulders from trembling. She was adorable.  
Calming down, she looked at him curiously, a smile still ghosting on her lips.

  
"When you said that the ketchup was for you, I thought you meant you liked a lot of it on your food," she snickered.  
Sans shrugged, his eye sockets half-lidded, a sheepish grin on his face.  
"But, I guess," she shrugged too, "ketchup is a tomato smoothie if you think about it."  
"pff, kid," he chuckled. "never though about it like that, but i guess i know what to tell Pap now."  
She giggled, he could see fascination in her eyes. No doubt he was interesting to her. She was more than interesting to him, though. But they weren't here for that, he reminded himself. Again.

  
"so, you were telling me..." he inquired, making sure his tone made it clear what he was referring to. "you don't have to if you don't want to, but i'd like to hear what is considered 'eventful' in your book."

  
She gave him a surrendering look and began her tale. She rolled her eyes when she told him about her horrific "Night of the worm-ridden Smoke Detector", sighed in frustration talking about her landlord, shrugged when she described her exam and smiled tiredly when she mentioned her friend.

  
He did his best to lighten up the conversation, making puns about smoke detectors, exams and women. To his delight, she reacted extremely well to jokes about women, so his assessment that she wasn't one of those who threw a hissy fit because of something like that was correct. In the past year, Sans learned that some humans got offended by the strangest of things for the strangest of reasons.

  
Not Y/n, though. This one had one healthy sense of humour.

  
Sans was honestly impressed that after all that, she still found it in herself to stay friendly - to him, to Grillby, to the waitress. He's known people and monsters who would be grumpy all day from the Smoke Detector incident alone.  
He also couldn't get enough of all the different expressions he saw, of how she gestured when she got too into the story, of her voice and the emotions it held.  
His favorite being how her eyes lit up when her mother called her to tell her that the surgery went well and gave the phone to Y/n grandmother.

  
He had it bad, he thought. This was bad.

  
Somehow, their jokes shifted from guys and girls to punny pick up lines.

  
"So," she put her elbow on the table, resting her head on her hand, "are you an earthquake? Because you _rock my world_."  
"heheh, classic," he snickered and copied her pose, looking her straight in the eyes. "Are you a parking ticket? Because you've got _fine_ written all over you."  
"Oh my god," she giggled and thought for a moment. "Speaking of cars. Did your license get suspended for _driving_ all the gals crazy?"  
"khhh yeah sure," the skeleton laughed, shaking his head."Soo...Is your name wifi? Because Im feeling a _connection._ "

  
Y/n chuckled and sighed contently, her stress seemingly gone for good.

  
"Hey, Sans, are you a beaver? Because _dam!_ "  
The both burst out laughing, Sans laying his head on the table, Y/n putting both her elbows on the table and hiding her face in her hands.

  
"no," he managed to say, lifting his head and seeing that Y/n had spread her fingers so she could look at him."I'm Windows. Can I _crash_ at your place tonight?"

  
The girl made a strangled noise and began laughing, making Sans proudly grin at his achievement.  
Then his phone rang, the ringtone indicating it was from Papyrus.

  
"wait a sec," he held up his hand and Y/n nodded in understanding as Sans answered the call.  
"yeah, Pap?"  
"SANS, ARE YOU STILL WITH Y/N?"

  
Sans looked at the clock  - it wasn't Papyrus' bedtime, why would he call then?

  
"yeah, she's here, we're at Grillby's."  
"SANS YOU BONEHEAD, HOW COULD YOU TAKE HER TO EAT THAT GREASY FOOD I CAN'T EVEN- " Papyrus continued his lecturing and Sans looked at Y/n to see that she was grinning widely, barely holding herself from laughing, as Papyrus' booming voice could easily be heard from the phone. Sans gave her a grin of his own.

  
"ANYWAY," Papyrus took a deep breath, "I AM CALLING TO SAY THAT UNDYNE AND ALPHYS ARE COMING OVER FOR A SLEEPOVER AND AS Y/N IS MY CHERISHED NEW FRIEND I WOULD LIKE HER TO ATTEND!"

  
Sans looked at Y/n, who looked like she was seriously contemplating the offer.

  
"TELL HER I SAID PLEASE!" Papyrus almost whined and Sans thanked the stars when the girl sighed in defeat and nodded with a smile.  
"sure, bro, she said yes," the stout skeleton smiled as he heard his brother squeal.  
"Of course I said yes," Y/n said thoughtfully, "Wouldn't want Papyrus to get _bonely._ "

  
The squealing stopped.

  
"oh my god," Sans' grin was almost making his skull crack.

  
"I'm sure Papyrus' sleepovers are second to _pun._ I'm saying they must be pretty _hip_ , if you know what I mean."

  
"WHAT WAS THAT?? SANS, WHAT DID YOU DO??!!!"  
  
Sans dropped on the table howling in laughter.


	5. The Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader meets the gang and learns that being in a kitchen together with both Papyrus and Undyne is not the safest choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last one before my flight home.  
> Next one will be posted as soon as I come home and sleep off the exhaustion from traveling :D 
> 
> I do hope you enjoy!

It was almost 8 PM when they finally walked out of Grillby's.

They had to be by Sans' and Papyrus' by eight.

  
But if was almost impossible to leave! Not with Sans continuing with his joking and her trying to keep up with him. Not with the warm, cozy atmosphere in the pub, the chatter of the other patrons making her feel like she was among people and not crowded by them at the same time.  
So when they finally made it past the door, she looked at her phone and groaned.

  
"Ugh, I guess we'll have to call Papyrus and tell him we'll be late. Could you give him a call?"

  
Sans looked at her thoughtfully before answering.

  
"well, actually, we still might make it in time."  
"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow, a disbelieving half-smile on her lips, "Know the Flash's phone number so he could maybe pick up my things and then take us to your place?"  
"the next best thing," he chuckled, "i know a shortcut."  
She gave a disheartened smile.  
"Sans, I've lived in this city for a while, there's no way. You know were I live, it's too far-"

  
The skeleton took his hand out of his pocket and extended it to her, his phalanges twitching ever so slightly.  
"come on, i'll show you."

  
She gave him a confused look, but put her hand in his, readily closing her fingers around the bones of his hand. He gave her a warm, almost thankful smile and led her to an alley behind Grillby's. She considered asking, but opted to see what the monster had in mind.  
He walked a bit in front of her and she looked over his back while concentrating on how his hand felt. It was bigger than hers, the bones were hard and smooth and she couldn't say they radiated warmth, but they were not cold, maybe slightly warmer than room temperature.

  
Did magical skeletons have something akin to blood? Humans had bone marrow, could that be an equivalent to skeleton blood? Or were they made of magical dust in the first place and their deaths just made them fall apart? Or was it that upon death the decomposition process was just so quick they turned into dust? Of course everything could be explained by magic doing what magic does - being magical, but still.

  
She made sure to remember to ask Sans that, he seemed to enjoy indulging her curiosity. And she enjoyed being near him. Very much so, she thought, absentmindedly squeezing his hand just a bit tighter and feeling that her heart skipped a beat when he actually squeezed back.

  
Oh. _Oh._ She might really be falling for him.

  
Just then they reached the darker part of the alley and she saw a small flash of blue in front of Sans.  
Next moment, everything went black - Y/n didn't even have time to panic, only to note that the gentle but firm grip of a bony hand was her only grounding to reality while in this pitch black darkness without even so much as ground on which to stand on.

  
The next step she took was already in a different place. The alley near her apartment complex.

  
The first thing she heard was a loud crash when a spooked cat turned a trash can over and ran away.  
She looked at Sans, bewilderment in her eyes. His smile was everpresent, but he looked like he was expecting something.  
Her thoughts were going crazy, one replacing the other before it was even done forming.

  
They were-! Now they're-? Sans can-! But how-? Can Papyrus-? She never heard of-! This is-! That was...

  
"ugh, buddy? tell me if you're dizzy or something," she heard Sans' voice and looked at his face again, this time she was sure there was an actual drop of sweat on his forehead.

  
He was just...

  
She quickly let go of his hand and he hadn't even finished taking a pained breath before she wrapped her arms around him in an excited hug. His hoodie was very soft, but the unmistakable feeling of his ribs against her body made Y/n's heart beat even faster than it already was. Sans took the gesture for something else, however, tensing and carefully bringing his arms up to lightly rest them on her back.

  
"whoa, Y/n, it's ok, i know it's a bit freaky, but-"

  
"Freaky?" she distanced herself enough to look him in the eye sockets, the brightest smile on her face. "That was amazing! Sans, you're amazing!"

  
Being so close, she saw that blue was indeed the color the stout skeleton blushed. She also saw the white lights in his eyes widen a bit.

  
"That was so unimaginably fascinating, and cool, and I can't even- I'm trying to say," she finally got a hold of her excitement and stepped back, realizing the breach of personal space - a light blush on her cheeks now too. "I'm trying to say, I never thought some monsters could do that and it's incredibly awesome."  
She smiled at him widely, her excitement mostly subdued now but still present.

  
Sans chuckled and bashfully rubbed the back of his cervical spine, his nonchalant demeanor gone for the moment. Y/n thought he was the most adorable creature on Earth.  
"huh, glad to hear you're not freaked out or anything," he said softly, looking to the side."was worried there for a sec."

  
Y/n knew that tone, she had spoken in it many times. He was legitimately worried that she would be scared. Of the teleporting? Of magic? Or...of him?

  
"Sans," she said his name warmly, prompting him to look at her."Did you worry I'd be scared of you?"  
"what? nah, i, ugh," he laughed, a laugh too strained for Y/n's liking."i actually hoped it'd be ok, _tibia_ honest. so, you know, you're not scared to the _bone_ so everyone's happy, y'know..."  
"Sans," she said his name again, warmly yet firmly."Look me in the eyes."

  
He locked his gaze with hers and she gave him a heartfelt smile.  
"You're a wonderful guy. You don't need to worry about spooking me, I trust that you wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

  
At that, the skeleton gave her a look that spoke of gratitude, but before he could say anything, she gently took his hand in hers and tugged, urging him to come with her.  
"Now come on, we need to get a few things if I ever want to remove my mascara when I'll inevitably want to wash my face off."

  
Whatever Sans wanted to say immediately got sidetracked by her words, so the next 10 minutes she spent explaining make-up to Sans while the latter was stuck answering questions about his teleportation abilities and other stuff his magic could do.  
  
Y/n was so very fascinated by this skeleton.  
  
"ready?" he asked when she zipped up her bag.  
"Yep," she said, being giddy about so many things - teleporting, seeing the skeleton brothers' home, meeting their friends.  
"don't mind taking a shortcut?" he winked at her and extended his hand which she happily took.  
"Lead the way," she smiled, bracing herself for the strange momentary darkness.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Papyrus was overjoyed when they arrived. He wasted no time in informing them that a child by the name of Frisk - the human ambassador, Y/n realized - will also be joining.

  
Just as Y/n set her bag, someone began to aggressively bang on the door. It turned out to be Undyne, an amazingly muscular fish-monster, accompanied by her girlfriend - a shy yellow dinosaur-like monster by the name of Alphys.

  
Papyrus was bubbling with excitement while introducing Y/n to his friends.

  
Y/n could see how Undyne could bee seen as intimidating, with her height being about the same as Papyrus', with her sharp fangs, clawed hands and that wild glint in her eye. But as the blue-skinned monster shook her hand(squeezing a bit too strongly) and greeted her with a cool "So you're the new human friend, huh? Nice." Y/n couldn't really find anything to be alarmed about. She was predatory looking, sure, and Sans told her she had aggressive tendencies, but Y/n could really see that the fish-monster had a kind soul.

  
Alphys was, honestly, quite the opposite. The soft-spoken nerdy monster quickly earned a place in Y/n's heart and Y/n tried to gently, preferably unnoticeably, encourage Alphys not to be reserved around her. She learned that talking about anime was the fastest way to get the dinosaur-monster out of her shell, so she did just that. In a short while, Alphys was excitedly listing the pros and cons of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie Season 2, focusing heavily on the cons.

  
All the while Sans was lazily sitting on the couch and every time Y/n glanced at him he looked very pleased and either gave her a thumbs up or just smiled at her.

  
She then went to the kitchen, asking Papyrus if he needed any help. By the smell and look of it, he needed all the help in the world if they didn't want to go hungry. The tall monster, however, refused the help, saying that his guest should just mingle and have a good time. Only by saying that she would be grateful if she could assist the Great Spaghettore did he happily let her participate in the cooking. Perhaps some of the meal could still be saved.

  
Then Undyne came into the kitchen. Half a minute later she materialized magic energy-spears.

  
When Y/n walked out of the kitchen, eyes wide as if she just returned from a war and clothes stained in sauces, oils and whatnot, Sans chuckled from his spot on the couch. On the spot next to him sat a kid, who, Y/n guessed, had to be Frisk.

  
"sorry about that, should'a warned ya about how _eggcited_ the two get while cooking," he snickered looking her over, she was a mess."we usually just eat chips and stuff at sleepovers if the food turns out to be inedible. oh, and this is Frisk."  
The skeleton nodded to the child, who gave Y/n an adorable smile and waved their hand.  
"Hi, Y/n!"  
"Hey, Frisk," Y/n smiled back, her calmness returning despite the noise in the kitchen only worsening.

  
"you ugh, wanna slip into your pajamas? it's kinda a tradition - the party doesn't start 'till everyone is in PJs," Sans offered, gesturing to the bathroom door."you can take the bathroom, Alph is changing in Pap's room and Undyne and Papyrus will change as soon as they're done cooking."  
"Ah, yeah, sure," she answered lamely as she grabbed her bag, taking note that Frisk was, indeed, already in their pajamas - violet shirt and shorts with hearts printed on them.

  
"And no make up!" Frisk said adamantly, a sly grin on their face.  
"I thought you wanted a sleepover, not a horror-show," Y/n chuckled and Frisk giggled."Ok, fine. Rules are rules. But you asked for it."

  
She winked at Sans and Frisk and let them be, walking to the bathroom. It would be a good opportunity to try and remove at least some stains on her clothes before they dried up, she thought.

  
Once in the bathroom, Y/n took her clothes off and spent a while washing off the stains. She then hanged the clothes on a hanger, changed into her PJs and washed her face.  
Looking at herself in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her hair, hoping in the back of her mind that the added volume would somehow compensate for the lack of make up. She didn't wear much of it to begin with, but she still felt a bit self-conscious, she didn't usually hang out in pajamas with people she just met. And she really didn't expect being seen like this by Sans today.

  
She huffed in frustration, staring at herself in the mirror, trying to will the blush that crept onto her checks into going away.  
Sans wouldn't care. He's a chill guy, he wouldn't probably even notice, it's not like he cares if there's eyeliner or mascara. Heck, he sees her as a friend, if his uncomfortableness when she hugged him was any indication, so she should just get over herself and go have a good time.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to will a calm smile to her lips and walked back into the livingroom.

Sans was still on the couch, Frisk was trying to build a fort from chairs and blankets and Alphys(now wearing PJ's that were dark blue with crescent moons and chibifaces of Luna from Sailor Moon) was fiddling with the TV. Things in the kitchen seemed to settle down, with only Papyrus' and Undyne's loud voices being heard.

  
"Sorry for taking so long," Y/n left the bag behind the couch and looked at Sans who, upon laying his eye sockets on her, blushed slightly blue.

  
"you look adorable," he commented, sounding much calmer that he looked.  
"Oh shush," she felt her cheeks heat up and he chuckled, his eye sockets now half-lidded."Why are you not changing, by the way?"  
"too lazy," he immediately answered, yawning.

  
"Sans," Frisk chimed in, "We'll all be in pajamas and you'll be in your street clothes. No fair."  
The kid pouted and Y/n nodded, agreeing with them.  
"kid, come on," Sans tiredly argued.  
"You know Papyrus'll be disappointed," Y/n pointed out and Sans sighed in defeat and stood up from the couch.

  
Y/n and Frisk looked at each other proudly and Y/n proceeded to help the kid with building a "Sleepover Couch-tent" as they called it. She asked Alphys what they were watching tonight and Alphys was all stutters and nerves when she told she couldn't decide, but she wanted for Undyne to like it too since last week they watched a romantic comedy and she could feel her girlfriend getting somewhat bored. So they had to think of something. Preferably anime.

  
Y/n pursed her lips, thinking.  
"Well...did you watch One Punch Man yet? It's an action comedy."  
"O-ooh, I forgot that one! W-we've been wanting to watch t-that one for a while!" Alphys excitedly nodded and began looking for it.

  
They finished the couch-tent and as Y/n observed their work, she saw Sans walking out of his room. He was wearing simple black pajama pants and a white t-shirt that had a picture of a skeleton in mime's clothes standing in front of the Eiffel tower and the words "BONEjour" printed on it.

  
Y/n could now see most of his arms. His bones were somewhat thicker than Papyrus' and Y/n had to make an effort not to stare, instead looking the skeleton in the eye sockets and smiling.  
"Nice shirt, very _humerus_."

  
Sans grinned widely and plopped back into his seat. Y/n noticed that he had pink slippers on. God, the skeleton looked so heartwarming sitting in his home, on his couch, wearing his house clothes.  
He looked at her, the lights in his eyes glowing warmly, and he looked like he was about to say something, but just then-

  
"OKAY PEOPLE," Undyne walked out of the kitchen, sauce smears on her face and clothes."Me and Papyrus are gonna get changed and we'll get this party started!"

  
And so they did.

  
They sat in front of the TV - Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys sitting on the sleeping bags on the floor and Sans, Y/n and Frisk taking the couch. The food was...it wasn't one of their best tries, Undyne said before the sound of packs of chips opening filled the room.

  
But the night itself was amazing. They watched the anime, Undyne loved it, her and Papyrus apparently took the whole "100 Push-ups, 100 Sit-ups, 100 Squats, 10 km run" to heart and decided to start doing that too. Alphys, Frisk, Y/n and Sans had a good time too, having a great deal of laughs.

  
Several hours later Papyrus went to bed, taking the sleeping Frisk with him. Alphys fell asleep when they started watching regular TV, her head on Undyne's stomach, the fish-monster managing to watch almost half of a re-run episode of "Fabulous with Mettaton" before letting sleep overcome her.  
Y/n yawned and looked at Sans. The smaller skeleton was falling in and out of sleep all evening, the last time she looked he was napping peacefully. His eye sockets were closed now too, his chest area slowly rising and falling. Y/n smiled at the sight and carefully reached out to take the remote from where it laid on the armrest on Sans' side of the couch.  

  
Successfully retrieving the remote, Y/n lowered the brightness of the screen as well as the the volume and switched to Animal Planet where there was a documentary on the wildlife of Alaska.

  
She then looked at Sans again. Although his grin was always present, the corners of his mouth were relaxed now, making his expression softer. The lines under his eye sockets and the arch of his brow ridges made him look tired, even somewhat sad. Y/n looked over his arms. The bone could easily be seen even in the dim light of the TV. She looked at his ulna and radius, at how his carpals connected to his metacarpals, noticed how his phalanges lightly twitched. Was he cold? Was it something he was dreaming about?

  
Y/n carefully draped more of the blanket they shared over Sans. Just as she tucked the blanket behind his shoulder, she felt him tense. Looking at him, she was met with two pinpricks of light, glowing mesmerisingly in the darkness.

  
"Hey," she said softly not to wake her new friends.  
"hey," he answered, watching her closely as she regained her distance, sitting next to him, but not close enough for them to touch.  
"Sorry for waking you," she apologized, giving him a small sheepish grin.  
"it's ok," he smiled - a warm, sleepy smile,"thanks for the blanket."  
She nodded.  
"Want me to turn the TV off?"  
"nah, i like it like this," he shook his head."so you really are a night owl, huh?"

  
Just then, she yawned. He chuckled.

  
"i see someone is _bone_ tired."  
She gave him a playful "shut up" look before yawning again.

  
"i can go to my room so you can sleep on the couch," Sans offered. Y/n frowned.  
"Noo, you look too cozy here, I wouldn't want you moving just because of me."

  
They sat a while in silence, watching majestic predatory birds flying over the vast alaskan forests.

  
"you sure you don't want me gone from the couch?" he asked again, looking at her, no doubt worried about her sleep. Little did he know he wasn't the only one who could fall asleep in almost any position.  
" 'm sure," she sleepily mumbled, "You only move if you'd rather not sleep here."

  
"there's nowhere else i'd rather be," he answered, his sincere tone making Y/n smile and look at the skeleton. He was sleepy too, his eye sockets half-lidded and a lazy smile on his face.  
"you should scooch over," he said then, "there'll be more blanket for you."

  
Seeing that there apparently  wasn't any reason she shouldn't, she moved closer to the monster, their arms touching as Y/n draped the blanket over herself.  
"Yep, this is better," she yawned, her eyelids getting heavier by the second.

  
They watched as on screen a bear was teaching it's cubs to climb trees and catch fish.  
She felt Sans slightly move, his skull barely touching her shoulder before he tensed and straightened up.

  
"sssrry about that," he mumbled sleepily.  
"I don't mind," she said quietly, herself on the edge of falling asleep.

  
He stayed silent for a moment.

  
"really?" came his cautious voice and Y/n, even in her fading consciousness, found it endearing.  
"Mmhmm," she nodded, leaning a bit closer to the monster.  
She felt happy when he leaned on her in turn and laid his skull on her shoulder. She let her head rest against his skull.

  
"bones not too uncomfortable?" he quietly asked and she shook her head slightly, knowing that he would feel it.  
"Goodnight, Sans," she whispered.  
"Goodnight, Y/n," he almost purred and Y/n felt her heart swell with warmth towards the skeleton one final time today before finally falling asleep.  


  
***

 

  
  
She woke up to shushed voices.

  
"-mgomg, that's so kawaii, this is my new OTP, I can't even-"  
"Shh, you'll wake the dorks, Alphy."  
"O-oh, right, y-you're right. But just look at this pic, you think they'll be angry if I post it to UnderNet? And maybe Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and my personal blog."  
"Pff, you're such a nerd, I love you."  
"Oh, Undyne..."

  
Oh those two.

  
"You two are so very cute," Y/n said, opening one eye to look at the two girlfriends who were now frozen in place with surprise and embarrassment. "But please no pics of my sleeping mug on social media."

  
"i'd have your mug on a mug," she heard Sans' gravelly voice and felt his skull leave her shoulder. She looked at the skeleton and he gave her a sleepy grin she happily returned.

  
"I don't want to seem _marrow-_ minded, but I really don't think that would look good."  
"i never _patella_ lie, it would look cool."

  
"DO I HEAR PUNS? I LET YOU HAVE YOUR SLEEP AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?!"

  
Sans and Y/n snickered, listening to Papyrus go on about how his brother was a horrible influence on Y/n.


	6. Time for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the sleepover Reader and Sans realize that they really want to spend time together. The problem is that it's going to be a very busy couple of weeks, so they'll have to try and make time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically a collection of little snippets of different meet ups with Sans. And then a moment of feels after that. Because if you're damaged enough, you don't need a trigger to feel vulnerable.
> 
> Author is at home, eating mom's food(getting faaat), working on a car with dad, meeting friends and making plans to go to the beach house. So because I'm feeling so good, I want to make You feel good too. Hope this chapter will make you smile!
> 
> Again, thank you to everyone who reads, gives kudos and leaves comments! It's been 8 years since I've actually posted something I've written and your support, as well as your kind and funny comments are more than I could have ever hoped for. I love you! <3

He was in the Underground again.

He was in Snowdin, the snow squeaking silently as he walked home.

  
This was a dream, he knew it. He had this dream many times in the past year. He would come home and Papyrus would be there, either telling him how he misses the human who escaped the Underground after killing Asgore or being sad about being driven back to the Underground by humans.

  
He stopped on the front porch and braced himself.  
With a sigh, he opened the door.

  
"HELLO, BROTHER!" he heard Papyrus' excited voice and turned to face the taller skeleton. He was sitting on the couch and a human was sitting next to him. The human wasn't Frisk. Or the other, creepy one. No, it was...

  
"Hi there, Sans," Y/n smiled warmly and his soul jumped in his ribcage. She patted the spot between herself and Papyrus."We're watching 'Mettaton's Fabulous Makeover', come join us!"  
"ugh, sure, bud," he said, walking over and plopping between the two, assuming a relaxed pose.

  
"Don't you 'bud' me," the girl giggled and he felt his breath hitch when she threw her arms around his cervical spine and hugged him.  
He looked at her and saw fascination written all over her face.

  
"You're amazing, Sans," she said, looking at him the same way she did when he teleported her for the first time, her e/c eyes sparkling with joy. He felt that he was blushing heavily.

  
"OH HE IS! BUT HE'S ALSO SUCH A LAZYBONES!" Papyrus laughed and also hugged his older brother.

  
"guys, you're making me all flustered, _tibia_ honest," Sans chuckled, trying to cope with the intense feeling of pure happiness that was washing over him, making his soul pulse and his breath quicken. Y/n let a quiet laugh escape her lips and, pressing herself closer to him, gave him a small peck on the cheekbone.

  
  
Sans woke up.

  
  
His breathing was quick, his cheekbones were no doubt blue and his hands clutched the covers desperately. From under the covers a blue glow could be seen.

Lifting the blanket, he squinted his eye sockets when a bright cyan blue light, almost unimpeded by his shirt, shone in his face, illuminating the wall behind him.

  
With a quiet groan he opened his eye sockets a little more and lifted his shirt, inspecting his ribcage. In it, under his sternum, a shining white heart was pulsing, giving off a strong cyan blue glow. The soul trembled from time to time, it did that for a long while now, but right now it somehow seemed to tremble not only in the usual painful way, but, instead, also with excitement.

  
Sans chuckled nervously. Not even his nightmares made his soul to become exposed like this. And his nightmares definitely didn't make his soul ache quite like this. He's known soulaches. This one was new. It was painful and pleasurable at the same time, giving him both sad and happy vibes, a mix of strong, pure feelings. And a overwhelming sense of longing for a certain human.

  
"heh," he chuckled, trying to calm down his breathing, but then he remembered how Y/n kissed him in his dream. The inverted heart-shaped soul made a particularly strong thump and he gave a quiet, almost painful laugh. Pulling his shirt back down, he covered himself with the blanket and laid his skull on the pillow. Thoughtfully, he raised his hand to his cheekbone, tracing the spot where she kissed him with two bony fingers. His other hand he placed on his ribcage, over his trembling soul.  

 

  
  
The next day, sitting at his hotdog stand and flipping through a book on quantum mechanics, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His mind instantly darted to the thought of who he wanted it to be and he called himself a numbskull in his thoughts before pulling out the device and looking at the screen.

  
Y/n.

  
His grin widened to a genuine smile as he unblocked the phone and read the message.

  
  
Y/n 13:21 - Knock Knock.  
  
He smiled so wide his cheekbones raised, making his eye sockets crease up.  
  
Sans 13:22 - who's there?  
Y/n 13:22 - Adore.  
Sans 13:22 - Adore who?  
Y/n 13:23 - Adore is between us, open up!:D  
  
He chuckled, looking at the photo he now had as her contact picture. He took it yesterday before she and the two monster girlfriends left - she was standing near the window and smiling at (him) the camera, her h/c hair and e/c eyes catching some of the sun's rays and shining beautifully.

  
Sans 13:23 - heheh, good one)))  
Sans 13:24 - knock knock  
Y/n 13:24 - Who's there?  
Sans 13:24 - orange.  
Y/n 13:24 - Orange who?  
Sans 13:25 - orange you going to let me in?  
Y/n 13:25 - Pff! :D  
Y/n 13:25 - Hope I'm not bothering you at work.  
Sans 13:25 - please do  
Sans 13:26 - you know me, i'm always searching for a reason to take a break  
  
He added the second part to not seem too desperate. Because he was. He was and he was angry with himself that he was. He had more selfcontrol than this. He decided to not bother her today and between waking up and her texting him he had to stop himself from texting her first about 5 times.  
  
Y/n 13:27 - Well then tell me how's your day going :)  
Sans 13:27 - slept, called Joe about work schedule, went to work at the hd/hc stand, gonna go to that other job soon. you?  
Y/n 13:28 - Oh wow, for someone who is so often called a lazybones you sure seem to have enough jobs to work yourself _to the bone_.  
Sans 13:28 - nah, you know i put as little _backbone_ into it as i can  
  
He sent the reply and then was interrupted from texting when somebody actually came to the stand.  
It was a group of girls - students, by the looks of it. One was a doll-faced blond girl with a bright yellow shoulder bag, the second one was a red-haired girl in a shirt with a Nirvana logo on it, the third girl was notably tall and wore glasses, and from behind her a fourth girl stepped out.

  
"Hope you're not against feeding a few hungry students," Y/n flashed him a smile and Sans was ready to run up to her and squeeze her in his arms.

  
Then again, it probably wouldn't be a pleasant experience for her, so he settled for expressing his joy through a smile of his own.

  
"hey there, Y/n," he looked her over with a grin he hoped didn't give away how much he liked everything about her. From her hair and her eyes to her figure to the watch she decided to wear today."sure, glad you came by."

  
"You make it sound like we won't be paying, Y/n," one of her friends giggled and that made Sans look at the other girls again. He honestly forgot about them for a second.

  
"glad to meet ya," Sans grinned and, after a moments consideration, extended a hand."sans, sans the skeleton."

  
The girls each took turns in shaking his hand and introducing themselves. He thought about whether or not to use a whoopee cushion or a joy buzzer, but he opted to treat the girls to his jokes instead, giving Y/n a quick glance as he delivered the punchline. Y/n laughed and looked very pleased with him, which made him feel more proud than should probably be normal in this situation.

  
"so," he addressed one of Y/n's friends, knowing the kind girl would prefer everyone else got their food first."you more of a hotdog or a hotcat person?"

  
When all three girls got their food and were now  happily chirping amongst themselves and eating while standing a short distance away, Y/n leaned on the stand and, giving him a sly look, knocked on the wood twice.

  
Stars, he didn't know if he could fall even more hopelessly for her.

  
"who's there?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound as relaxed as possible.  
"Canoe."  
"canoe who?"  
"Canoe give me one with just ketchup and mustard?"

  
There was a second where they just stared each other in the eyes, just happy to be talking face to face. Then they broke down laughing.

  
"sure," he chuckled, starting to make the hotdog,"so you heard about why skeletons lose at bingo, right?"  
"Hmm?" she hummed in a questioning tone and he gave her a quick look just to admire her lips that were forming that cute little smile. He adored her more and more by the second.  
"because they always get _b-one_ ," he shrugged and grinned when she started to giggle.  
"Makes _sans,_ " she smiled and opened her bag.

  
"don't you even," he warned her and she gave him a questioning look."you get one on the house."  
"Saaans," she almost whined and as cute as he found the expression, he stayed adamant, cocking his skull to the side and looking at her with calm half-lidded eyesockets.  
"consider it payment for bringing me customers."

  
She considered the offer for a moment, but then took the hotdog from his hand.  
"I would have argued longer, but I'm really hungry," she confessed and smiled warmly at him."Thanks, Sans. I'm happy you were ok with us coming over."  
"of course i was, Y/n," he replied honestly, looking into her eyes, "you do that more often, k?"  
"Now now, you'll get sick of me," she warned him playfully and took a bite.

  
"nah, i like having you around," he said and her wide e/c eyes looking at him in surprise while her mouth was stuffed with food was almost too adorable for him to handle.  
She raised her hand for him to wait, then chewed and swallowed before giving him a thankful smile.  
"Glad to hear that, I like hanging out with you too."  
"heh, good to hear," he shrugged a little - an involuntary movement, mimicking the little jump his soul made.

  
"Y/n!" one of the girls called out then, "the next lecture starts in 12 minutes!"  
"It's a 10 minute walk!" the other friend chimed in, "Come on!"  
"We know your boyfriend is funny," the third friend giggled, "but we really need to go!"  
Sans' gaze darted to Y/n's face. Would she take offence to that? Would she try to get him to say something?

  
"He's also handsome!" she called out back, earning giggles from her friends and then turning back to Sans who now had a blue tint on his cheekbones."Sorry about that, we tease each other a lot, hope you're not offended by our stupid jokes."

  
He swallowed and chuckled, hoping it didn't sound too nervous.  
"me? offended by jokes? Y/n, please," he gave her a smile and she smiled back.  
"You have standards."  
"you're meeting all of them."

  
Oh. Well then _._

  
" _babe,_ " he added, playing into the joke, dying a little on the inside and praying to the stars for his gamble to work.

  
Y/n, who seemed surprised for a moment, shook her head, the light blush on her cheeks not escaping the skeleton's gaze.  
"Oh you," she chuckled."See you around, Sans. Don't doze off on the new job, I know you could do some great stuff there."  
"i, ugh," he felt his cheekbones heat up again from the unexpected, yet hugely appreciated encouragement, "thanks, Y/n."  
She nodded and quickly walked over to her friends, who all gave Sans a wave before walking away in a hurry.

  
***bzz***

  
Y/n 13:50 - When I said great, I honestly meant that.  
Y/n 13:50 - Like, real _sansational_ stuff;)  
  
He looked at the message, a stupid smile plastered on his face.  
  
Sans 13:51 - thanks)) gotta _patella_ you, it really means a ton. a _skeleton_.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Sans was used to dealing with things on his own and keeping quiet about it.

  
Right now, however, he was barely holding himself back from spamming Y/n with messages. It has been a long time since he actually had any ambition and cared about anything but the wellbeing of his brother, so the short time he spent in the lab was something of an eye(socket)opener.

  
A year after they have been freed from the Underground Sans was finally daring to try and hope that the good times would last and that his nightmares would remain just that - nightmares. After all, he's seen and done stuff, it's expected that he would be damaged. But maybe, maybe he still had reasons to want things, to try things, to do something and hope it actually makes a difference. He was still cautious about being too hopeful, about putting much of himself into anything, but the day at the lab reminded him that he was, once, someone who could do that.

  
The proximity to science, that was once his calling(right alongside comedy), was, however, not the only factor in him getting his confidence back little by little.

  
Watching how his brother and friends enthusiastically build their new lives above ground, how they found more and more things that they liked also inspired him. Every evening that Papyrus excitedly told him about his day Sans felt himself want to try and believe in a better tomorrow.

  
And then there was Y/n. Y/n, who destroyed several of his barriers without even trying, just by being herself, leaving him baffled and unguarded. Y/n, who was so kind, so funny, so caring and so, so beautiful in his eyes. Y/n, who remembered his throwaway line about going to the lab and made sure to encourage him today. She made him want to trust her as much as he trusted his brother and although his logical mind told him that he hasn't known her all that much, his honest monster soul was reaching out to her.

  
So there he was, sitting on the couch, holding his phone, his phalanges hovering over the letters, his emotions both clear and conflicted.

  
...

  
Sans 19:11 - so i went to the lab  
Y/n 19:12 - Do tell!  
Sans 19:13 - tibia honest, i liked it a lot, Y/n  
Y/n 19:13 - I'm so happy to hear that! So you'll be working there from now on?  
Sans 19:13 - yeah, i think i will.  
Sans 19:14 - think it's a good idea? you know i'm a bit of a numbskull

  
  
She called not 5 seconds later. He answered without thinking.

  
"yeah?"  
"Don't you 'yeah' me, Sans the Skeleton," she said, her tone scolding yet warm at the same time."Jokes aside, I'm really happy you got the job, you'll do wonderfully."

  
He smiled like an idiot, clutching his phone and listening to her voice.  
"ya think so?"  
"I know so," she was smiling, he heard it in her  voice. It was so refreshing for somebody to actually know what he's been up to and for someone besides his beloved brother to cheer him on like this, to congratulate him. To believe in him when he almost forgot how to believe in anything.

  
"thanks, Y/n," he said with a content sigh, letting himself imagine that maybe he'd even be thankful enough and confident enough to touch her hand affectionately if she were here. He was almost sure she wouldn't mind.

"so what'cha doing?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound more nonchalant.  
"Oh, well,  I'm sitting in a restaurant with the girls. You know, from earlier," she answered and now the noise in the background made sense to him.  
"well, don't wanna keep you from it then," he said, faking a yawn."gonna go take a nap anyway."  
"You've earned it," Y/n almost cooed and his soul felt like it was wrapped in warmth.

  
"huh, i'll quote that to Pap if he complains that i'm sleeping instead of picking up that sock."  
" **Pick. Up. The. Sock.** "  
"ok."  
"Saaans," she laughed and he couldn't help but join in."I'll stop wasting your time now, mister Important Scientist."

  
"ok,ok, but first, i need to warn ya, as a scientist," he took a deep breath, "don't trust atoms. they _make up everything_."  
"Oh my god, Sans," she giggled."Listen, you have a very important job now. You need to remember that you can make science puns, but only _periodically._ "

  
He burst out laughing and took a breath to make himself calm down. They couldn't help but banter with one another for a bit more, seemingly unable to end the call. Soon enough, however, Y/n's friend came over to find her and ask how long she was planning to hide away from them, so the two finally said their goodbyes.  
 

  
***

  
Sans 00:37 - so you back home yet?  
Y/n 00:40 - Yep! How was your nap?  
Sans 00:41 - was ok.  
Sans 00:41 - so i was thinking, wanna meet up sometime this week?  
Y/n 00:42 - I would love to!  
Y/n 00:42  - Problem is, I have so much planned. And didn't you say  you'll have a ton of work too?  
Sans 00:42 - a _skeleton_  
Y/n 00:42 - A _skeleton_  
Y/n 00:43 - :D :D  
Sans 00:43 - )))  
Y/n 00:43 - So how do we do this?  
Sans 00:43 - we'll think of something.  
  


  
***

  
  
**Day 1**  
14:03  
  
He just walked into the cafeteria of his new workplace. There, at a table near the window Y/n was sitting, two plates of food already in front of her. She sees him too and her features light up with joy.

  
"Hey there," she looks him over and he feels like he should be so much more than he is for her to like him, but her kind e/c colored eyes make him doubt that thought.

  
"The lab coat suits you," she smiles and he can feel his cheekbones becoming blue.  
"the everything suits you," he answers witlessly, yet honestly and that makes her giggle and her eyes sparkle.

  
They have lunch together, discuss how Sans likes it there and what their plans for the rest of the day are - work for Sans, a series of lectures for Y/n. They decide they'll chat in the evening.

  
They do.

 

  
**Day 3**  
18:35  
  
He had telepoted to her university and met her by the entrance. She hugged him when she saw him and he happily threw his arms around her.  
A couple of minutes later they were sitting in a cafe that was near the place where she was meeting her friends.

  
"You really don't want to join us?" she asked and sipped her coffee.  
"nah," he waved his hand, "it's a girl's night out, i've no place there."

  
They debate putting him in one of Mettaton's dresses, have a good laugh and discuss their next meeting.

 

  
  
**Day 4**  
21:11  
  
It isn't planned.

Papyrus' phone is dead, it's pouring outside and Sans is beyond worried. Y/n brings his brother home, having shielded the tall skeleton with her umbrella. Distracting him and not letting him notice that she was letting him have most of it, she ended up with most of her left side being completely wet.

  
Sans is the one to hug her this time and as the smell of her wet hair fills his nonexistent lungs, he lets himself, if just for a moment, nuzzle his face into her hair as words can't express how grateful he is that she brought his brother home and how happy he is to just be able to see her.

  
The stout skeleton gives her his hoodie and they put the younger monster to sleep, reading him a bedtime story with Sans reading the male lines and Y/n reading the female ones.

  
They then sit in the kitchen sipping hot cups of tea and talking for a couple of hours with the sounds of thunder and rain serving as a fitting background noise.  
  
  
**Day 6**  
16:17  
  
It's raining again and he meets her as she's exiting the book shop. She's surprised to meet him here, asks about his job. He says he has five to ten minutes and he wanted to spend them taking her to her meeting with the editor, so she doesn't have to deal with the weather and catching a taxi or a bus.

  
She gives him a grateful smile and he offers her his hand which she happily takes.

  
As they appear near the office building where her editor works, she thanks him for the third time and gives him a quick hug before leaving.  
He returns to work in the best of moods.  
  
  
**Day 8**  
05:03  
  
He has a nightmare. He jumps onto UnderNet and as he sees that she's online, he doesn't have any doubts about whether to write to her or not.

  
Sans 05:04 - hey  
Y/n 05:05 - Hey  
Y/n 05:05 - Thought you went to sleep  
Sans 05:06 - nightmare. i thought you went to sleep too.  
Y/n 05:06 - I tried, ended up re-reading a chapter, then another one and now it's already too late to go to sleep.  
Y/n 05:06 - Wanna come over and drink coffee with me?  
  
He's there so quick he doesn't even take the time to reply. He just knocks on her door.

  
Only when he hears quiet shuffling on the other side of the door does he think that he should have changed out of his pajamas and given her time to get ready. For a second, panic overtakes him and he's about to teleport back when the door opens.

  
The sight of her, so soft and innocent in her pajamas and with messy hair, makes him smile a little shy smile.

  
"hey," he says in a somewhat gravely, yet gentle voice.  
"Hey," she smiles and lets him in, hugging him as soon as he's inside the apartment and he hugs her tightly, relishing her warmth, her softness, her smell.

  
They end up on the couch with two steaming mugs of coffee on the coffee table in front of them. They talk, her calm, gentle voice soothing his nerves and her beautiful e/c colored eyes making his soul swell.

  
They decide that, if all else fails, they wouldn't be against waking up earlier to be able to at least drink coffee or tea together in the morning. Y/n makes a joke that she must really mean a lot to him if he was willing to do that. Sans just chuckles and drinks his coffee.  
  
  
**Day 11**  
12:52  
  
"Sans, you really didn't have to," she says as a smile graces her lips.  
"wanted to," he answers and takes a bottle of ketchup from her fridge, "besides, it's cool to have lunch here."  
"That's just ketchup," she smirks and he grins at her as he downs the bottle.

  
He took a break from work to bring her to the central bus station where she was meeting her old friend.

  
"so you're still excited about the guy?" he asked as he watched her applying the finishing touches of her make up.  
"Well, he  is her new boyfriend and from what I've heard from her he makes her very happy. Hope we'll get along," she answers as looks herself over critically."It'll have to do."

  
"you will, you're impossible to not like. and you look very nice," he says and he means it.  
"Thanks," she smiles at him somewhat bashfully and comes up to where he's sitting at the kitchen table. He regrets that it's not him she'll be spending the day with.  
"ready?"  
"Yep," she extends her hand to him and he chuckles, standing up and taking her hand into his bony one.  
  
  
**Day 12**  
18:04  
  
Sans was home as soon as he could. As he teleported into his room, he felt a smell that wasn't usual to their apartment. A smell of actually tasty food. Opening his door, he listened closely.

  
Papyrus was there. Y/n was too.

  
He was in the kitchen in a second.

  
"hey there, bro. hey Y/n, nice to see ya," he said as he tried to walk into the room with as much swagger as possible.

  
"Oh, hey Sans," Y/n turned to him, flashing him a smile.

  
"SANS," Papyrus was apparently very excited, "WERE YOU AWARE THAT THERE WAS SUCH A THING AS A SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE?"

  
"nope," Sans shrugged and looked at Y/n curiously."your idea?"  
"INDEED," Papyrus answered instead, "IT REALLY IS INGENIOUS."

  
"so you gonna have dinner with us, Y/n?" Sans asked, hoping that she would and that after that they could have a nice quiet time watching TV on the couch.  
"No, sorry," the girl gave him an apologetic look, "I just came by to cook something for you guys as a way of saying how grateful I am to have you in my life. Plus, I missed Papyrus."

  
"YEEES~" the taller skeleton said, suspicion in his voice clearly evident, "AS YOU AND MY BROTHER KEEP RUNNING INTO EACH OTHER RATHER SUSPICIOUSLY, I GATHER YOU HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO MISS EACH OTHER ALL THAT MUCH."

  
Y/n and Sans shared a mischievous glance before the former took off her apron, getting ready to run to her next errand. She hugged Papyrus tightly and the tall skeleton leaned down to return the hug in full. Sans' soul felt like it was dipped in honey at the sight.

  
He walked her to the door and as they hugged he teleported her to the park where she was meeting her aunt and cousin.

  
"Saans," she said his name with mock anger, "did you just lead me through a shortcut?"  
"mmay have," he said lazily as he finally let her go from his arms. He was starting to believe his hugs were not at all uncomfortable for her and that realization was intoxicating.

  
"You're too kind to me," she smiled as she looked him in the eye sockets with those wonderful e/c colored eyes."Thank you, but really, go get some rest."  
"i'm always finding ways to rest, don't worry 'bout it," he chuckled and she smirked.  
"Resisting _arrest_ , are we?"  
"you know me, bad to the _bone_."

  
They snickered and then Y/n sent Sans to go and have dinner with his brother like a proper family should. He would be lying if he said he didn't appreciate that.  
He only wished she could join them.

  
  
**Day 14**  
20:13  
  
Sans 20:13 - hey  
Y/n 20:14 - Hoi :3  
Sans 20:14 - i don't even  
Y/n 20:14 - Hello Don't Even, I'm Temmie!  
Sans 20:14 - ok then. _temmie_ how's your day been)  
Y/n 20:16 - _Bone_ tired, _tibia_ honest. not telling you a _fibula_ here, ton of work today. (Do we really need to add " _a  skeleton"_ at this point?)  
Sans 20:19 - just for that combo i'm coming over and bringing you a burger from grillby's  
Sans 20:19 - and yes, we do. always. never forget the skele  
Y/n 20:20 - No, no, Sans, stay home and rest, come on!  
Y/n 20:20 - Skele? That sounds adorable! Sans the Skele!  
Y/n 20:21 - What I just said was not offensive, right?  
  
***knock knock***  
  
"Who's there?"  
"Wasp."  
"Wasp who?"  
"Wasp not offensive at all."  
"Come in you adorable dork."

  
  
***

 

  
  
The burgers were eaten and both Sans and Y/n were now sitting on the couch watching TV.

  
"Thanks again, Sans," the girl said, sipping her tea.  
"don't mention it," he answered with a shrug, a relaxed expression on his face, "i like having a reason to see you."

  
Damn. Damn him, damn the monster race's eagerness to be honest, damn his mental barrier that all but dissipated in Y/n's presence.

  
He dared to give her a glance. She was looking at him with a warm smile, a light blush dusted her cheeks.

  
"Same here," she nodded,"Sorry that our meet ups lately have been so hectic. You know, with those stupid agent/editor/publisher meetings and final lectures."  
"nah, it's ok," he replied, his calmness returning from seeing her react so well to his sudden honesty, "i was _buried_ with work all this time too."  
"Oh stars, Sans," she rolled her eyes and laughed, "you are a skeleton, but come on."

  
"don't like morbid jokes or puns?" he asked, making a mental note.

  
"I love them _to death_ ," she looked him in the eye sockets and he chuckled appreciatively, replacing his mental notes accordingly.

  
"heh, good to hear," he looked at her with his eye sockets half-lidded, a relaxed expression oh his facial bones. "anyway, my work schedule should be ok starting next week now that they know i can do things on my own well enough."  
"Pf, they could of asked me, I could have told them that you're the most capable and _humerus_ scientist around," she chuckled and he did too, feeling his cheekbones become  warmer.

  
Before he got to thank her, however, she spoke again.

  
"So you know that my grandma has a cabin near the beach."

  
"yeah, are you going to go visit her?"

  
He would be happy for her if she would, but a traitorous voice inside him wanted  to ask her not to - he couldn't teleport that far and he got to see so little of her in the past two weeks, their meetings being frequent, yet brief most of the time. He still kept a relaxed expression on his facial bones, however, not letting his egoistical wish to be with her more often show.

  
"Not exactly...I wondered if you and Papyrus would want to maybe accompany me there for the weekend."

  
What?

  
He looked at her with wide eye sockets, his mouth somewhat agape. She apparently took his silence the wrong way.

  
"Well, I mean, we can invite Alphys, Undyne and Frisk too, I just, you know, wanted to run the idea by you."

  
He's never seen her quite this flustered and the sight was so cute he couldn't help but chuckle.

  
"i think Pap will be overjoyed, he adores you," he nodded.  
"And what do you think? About the idea?" she asked, a shy smile on her lips. He looked at her as if she just asked him what  2 + 2 was.  
"i'd love to go, Y/n," he said, looking her in the eyes and just knowing a traitorous blue hue was starting to appear on has cheekbones again. He didn't let it stop him from smiling at her.

  
She smiled brightly in return, her calmness mostly returning.

  
"Glad to hear that," she said, starting to play with a lock of her h/c hair."So should I call Alphys, Undy-"  
"nah," he answered a little to quickly and now it was his turn to be the flustered one."i mean, ya know, it's just for the weekend...let's make it the three of us this time, we can get to know the place, meet the neighbors, try and Undyne-proof the house for next time...and stuff."

  
He was talking nonsense now, perfect. Sans made himself shut up and gave Y/n a sheepish grin. She seemed almost relieved.

  
"Yeah, we'll definitely invite them next time."  
"yep."

  
They looked at each other with the happiest, stupidest of grins. Y/n leaned closer, as if discussing sensitive information and asked softly.

  
"That doesn't make us bad friends, right?"  
"nah," Sans also leaned towards her, a reassuring happy smile on his teeth.  
They shared a chuckle before looking each other in the eyes with a look only people who have a common plan share.

  
Then Sans' phone rang.

  
As if a spell was broken, the two distanced themselves from each other, Y/n sinking into the sofa with a yawn and Sans assuming a relaxed pose and lazily picking up the phone.

  
"yeah, Pap?"  
"SANS, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU WANTED TO BE HOME BY NOW," his brother sounded if only a bit worried.  
"heh, sorry Pap, went to visit Y/n for a bit, i'll be home soon."  
"OH, Y/N! IS SHE THERE?!"  
"yeah, Pap, she's here."  
"I WISH TO SPEAK WITH HER!"

  
Being able to hear the taller skeleton's voice clearly from where Sans was sitting, Y/n smiled and extended her hand with her palm facing up. The stout skeleton happily gave her the phone.

  
"Hi, Papyrus," she greeted him with affection in her voice and Sans immediately remembered how the two hugged recently. His facial bones relaxed at the memory, his expression softening and his eyes glowing warmly while he watched her with half-lidded eye sockets.

  
"GOOD EVENING TO YOU TOO, Y/N! I DO HOPE YOUR DAY WENT WELL!"  
"It was busy, but yes, it did, thank you. How was yours?"

  
"IT WAS SPLENDID! I WENT TO WORK AND THEN WE COOKED WITH UNDYNE AND THEN ALPHYS CAME IN AND UNDYNE SPILLED A WHOLE HUGE POT OF PASTA SAUCE ALL OVER HER!...LUCKILY, IT WASN'T HOT BY THAT POINT."

  
"That's good to hear," Y/n giggled, "Don't worry, I'll send Sans your way soon. He'll even bring a surprise for you."  
"A SURPRISE??! WOWIE, I CAN'T WAIT!....WHAT IS IT?"

  
"Papyrus, honey," she laughed softly, a sound that made Sans almost purr."If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore, you'll have to wait 'till he gets home."  
"AH, YOU ARE CORRECT! THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL PROVE HOW AWESOMELY PATIENT HE IS BY WAITING, NYEHEHEH!...BUT IT WON'T BE TOO LONG, RIGHT?"

  
"No, no it won't," she smiled, reassuring him with a warm, caring voice.  
"OKAY!!" he answered, excitement clear in his voice."THEN WILL YOU PLEASE TELL MY LAZYBONES BROTHER TO HURRY UP AS SOON AS YOU'RE DONE YOUR SOCIALIZING?"

  
Y/n's raised her eyebrows and looked at Sans in a dramatic manner.

  
"Sans, I'm telling you to please hurry to your brother as soon as possible."  
"AS SOON AS YOU'RE DONE SOCIALIZING! IF YOU ARE NOT DONE, I WILL WAIT!"  
"...As soon as we're done socializing," she said with a strained voice, clearly trying not to laugh.

  
"aw, but it's raining outside, i'll be soaked to the _bone_ ," Sans said, leaning closer to the phone. Y/n snickered.  
"SANS YOU...IT'S NOT EVEN RAINING!"  
"yeah, i guess i'm a terrible liar, you can see _right through me_."  
"OH MY GOD SANS!!!"

  
Y/n was now laughing, passing the phone over to Sans with a trembling hand.

  
"i'll be home soon, bro," he said to his raging brother, who stopped screaming, hmphed and then said with in the cutest, sweetest voice.  
"TELL Y/N BYE FOR ME?"

  
"sure. Pap says 'bye'," the monster looked at Y/n, who stopped giggling, smiled affectionately and answered, raising her voice a bit.  
"Bye, Papyrus! Love you platonically!"  
"NYEH! I'M SHOWERED IN FRIENDLY LOVE!!!" the skeleton all but squealed and Sans could easily imagine huge tears of happiness forming in his brother's eye sockets."I PLATONICALLY LOVE YOU TOO, Y/N!"

  
The call was ended, giggles were shared and a comfortable silence lingered for a moment.

  
"i guess i should go," the skeleton sighed and stood up, followed by Y/n.  
"A shame," the girl sighed too and looked a him tiredly, yet clearly content."I'm glad you came, Sans. Thanks."  
"huh, it's nothing," he rubbed the back of his cervical spine, all of a sudden shy for some reason."so, ugh, i guess i'll be off now."

  
"Wait," she lightly grabbed his shoulder in a hurry, probably worrying that he'll teleport away. He could feel how soft and warm her hand was through his hoodie.  
"Um, sorry," she gave him a sheepish grin and as she removed her hand from his shoulder he wanted to ask her to leave it there, or to maybe grab her hand - anything, he just wanted to touch her, to feel her touch.

  
"hey, you know i'll go nowhere without my goodbye hug," he shrugged and made an effort so that his chuckle seemed like a light, relaxed one. Those hugs were the only time he was guaranteed the opportunity to hold her close to him and he began to look forward to them. He wondered if that was pathetic.

  
"I would be very sad if you did," she smiled and then turned and walked to her bag."But you almost forgot Papyrus' surprise."  
"i thought the weekend at the beach was the surprise," Sans raised a brow ridge. Was there something else?

  
"Well, yeah, that too. But I wanted you to give this to him."

  
She walked back to him and handed him a book. The cover had a print on it that made it look like it was made from old wood with vines growing up it. The name of the book was written in gold that shone in the warm light of the room. Sans recognized the name.

  
"holy...this is-?" he looked at her with wide eye sockets.

  
"The official release will be the day after tomorrow," the girl, clearly bashful from his intense gaze, said as she looked to the side and then at him again."This is the first copy. I want Papyrus to have it."

  
He looked at the book and then at her again.

  
"this is so cool," he mumbled, his thoughts scattered from everything he wanted to say."Y/n, this is seriously cool, why didn't you mention it earlier, i would have brought you something more festive than a burger."  
"Oh, I, um," she gave a soft laugh,"Thank you, Sans. But what you did was perfect, I was so happy I honestly forgot about the book for a while. And then I kinda thought it wasn't that big of a deal."

  
"Y/n, come on," he frowned, his brow ridges coming together, "it's a big deal. it's your new book, this is amazing. do you even have a clue how many humans and monsters it'll make happy? how happy it'll make Papyrus?"

  
"I do hope so," she chuckled a bit nervously and his hand was on her shoulder in an instant, the white lights of his eyes looking into her e/c orbs.  
"this is great, Y/n," he said, leaning closer to her, hoping it would somehow make the message clearer."you did real good."  
"You haven't even read it yet," she tried to argue, but her eyes betrayed how touched she was by his words.  
"i know it's good. and you did great by finishing it, getting it past the editor and getting it published. really, Y/n, congrat-"

  
She hugged him then. Tighter that ever before, he could feel her hands trembling as she rubbed his back slowly.

  
"Thanks," Y/n said softly, resting her head on his clavicle. Putting the book aside, he hugged her like he's waited ages to do just this. To belong like this, to be held like this by her, to hear that soft voice she used in private moments and that sounded almost...loving.

  
"always," he gently nuzzled her head with his cheekbone, inhaled her scent and dared to lightly run his hand through her lovely e/c colored hair. He was in heaven.

  
He heard her let out a shaky, yet relieved sigh as she traced one of his ribs through his hoodie and shirt, making him hug her tighter, relishing the sensation.  
While one of his bony hands was stroking her hair, the other started to trace random patterns on her back. He just couldn't let go, the silkiness of her hair, the softness of her body, the realization that her heart was beating right against his sternum was everything he could ever imagine wanting. Her delicate hands stroked along his spine while his bony ones dared to touch her in turn.

  
He would be lying if he said that this hug was all about her, about reassuring and congratulating her.

It started out that way, Sans realized, but it was more and more clear by the second how desperately he needed this. To hold her close, soul to soul, to encircle her in his arms, to lean into her touch and to believe, for just a moment, that this was how it could be. That this kind, beautiful human could want this too.

  
"Sans?" he heard her gentle voice and as she distanced herself just enough to look him in the eye sockets, he looked at her with adoration.  
"yeah?" his voiced traitorously cracked and he gave her an apologetic smile for no other reason.  
"Are you ok? You seem sad," she said with worry in her voice.

  
"nah, I'm, ugh..." he looked to the side. Damn, it was so hard to hide himself from her, he thought he was good at this.  
"Sans," she called him again, her gentle and soft voice accompanied by her warm hand on his cheekbone. He flinched at the contact, but couldn't stop himself from leaning into the touch a second later, his eye sockets half-lidded, the lights of his eyes shining slightly brighter and a blue hue covering his cheekbones.

  
"i'm alright, Y/n," he managed to say in a quiet voice before finally gathering the courage to look her in the eyes again. White glowing lights met e/c colored eyes and he could see that she was still worried. Always so caring.

  
"i'm fine," he tried again, forcing a smile, " 's no _fibula_ , can't _patella_ lie."

  
She didn't answer, but he saw that she didn't buy it. Instead, her other hand came up to his face, cupping his other cheekbone gently. His breath hitched when she leaned closer and pressed her forehead to his, which he reciprocated without thinking.

  
"You know you can talk to me, right?" she gently traced the lines of his facial bones with the tips of her fingers, making his soul tremble."I won't force you to say anything, but I can see you're often sad about something. Just know I'm here for you."  
"Y/n..." he breathed out her name, internally cursing himself for being a monster at this moment. Emotions were tied to the soul and monsters were made from the magic of their souls, so emotions were raw and powerful and sincere, and very few monsters could master the art of decently masking their emotions, not to mention keeping them under control.

  
And Sans' self-control was crumbling by the second.

  
"stars, Y/n," he shook his head and clutched her waist tighter, like he was scared she would disappear right this second. He didn't know what to say. How to say it. His thoughts were a mess, he wanted to tell her so much right now, about what he felt for her, about how he needed her, even about the stuff he's been through, but words just wouldn't come out. Instead, a pained sigh left him. He knew everything he kept locked up in his soul would eventually break him, but he never expected it to be in front of Y/n.

  
"Hush, hush..." she softly cooed and her soft hands caressed his facial bones, making him open his eye sockets he didn't even realize he squeezed shut.  
She looked at him so affectionately, with so much care that all he could do was stare.  
"Hush now," she said again softly and her thumbs lightly traced under his eye sockets, wiping away liquid as clear and as blue as a blue diamond.

  
Damn his monster physiology. Damn him, being so broken.

  
He opened his mouth to say something, anything would do at this point, but nothing but a shaky breath came out.  
Y/n looked at him as if he wasn't at all trying her patience right now, instead giving him a small, yet incredibly warm smile.

  
"You have very beautiful eyes, Sans," she cocked her head slightly to the right, "I never knew one of them could be such a vibrant cyan blue color."

  
He held his breath, looking over her face for signs of fear or of cold, scientific interest. He found only tenderness. She really thought his eyes were...

  
"you really mean it?" he managed to ask and his voice sounded so weak and desperate he would wince if he wasn't so concentrated on hearing her answer. She nodded, not taking her eyes from his.  
"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, Sans," she said gently, a light blush on her cheeks and a warm smile on her lips.

  
That was it.  
He hugged her and held her like he was hanging on for dear life, his breath quick, uneven, like he just ran a marathon, his face buried in her hair, his eyes closed.

  
What happened? Nothing today lead to this, nothing happened today to leave him in such a state.

  
Yet there he was.

  
He was both crumbling and healing in her arms, finding solace in faintly feeling her heartbeat against his sternum and knowing that her soul was almost right against his right now. It was like he had been running away from all the horrible things he'd seen and done, from all of his nightmares and finally, finally reached home and collapsed into her arms, exhausted and damaged.

  
She was his home. It didn't matter now if she would ever reciprocate his feelings, it's just how it was.

  
He felt her arms around himself, her hands stroking his back. He flinched and prayed to the stars she wouldn't pull away when her hand touched the back of his cervical spine.  She didn't. She gently, carefully caressed the backs of his cervical vertebrae and when he hugged her tighter she stroked them more confidently, rubbing the sensitive bone soothingly. She then moved on to his skull, caressing the occipital, parietal and temporal bones.

  
Her actions were accompanied by gentle hushes and whispers of his name, by comforting words and  quiet humming, calming him down, soothing his soul.

  
A while later, when he finally felt he was ok, he realized that they were now sitting on the couch again, with him heavily leaning on her. He carefully distanced himself a bit, letting his hands stay on her shoulders, unable to let go of her fully. Not just yet.  
He braved to look her in the eyes and was met with the sight of those lovely e/c eyes looking at him affectionately, but still with some worry.

  
"i, um," he internally cursed, he was bad at this. He tried again.

  
"thanks, Y/n," he said, but it was so much less than what he wanted to convey. Y/n, however, seemed to understand what he meant.  
"Always," she smiled warmly and he realized she repeated his earlier words. That made him smile sincerely and his phalanges squeezed her shoulders gently.  
"i, ugh, figure i owe you an explanation?"  
"You owe me nothing," she shook her head slowly, "I just hope you're better."

  
"i am. thanks to you," he nodded, relieved that the explanations could wait at least a bit. He doubted confessing his feelings and his past was a good idea right after he crashed like this. He didn't know how much more his soul could handle before he _fell down_. "i'll tell you, just...not today."  
"You can tell me or not tell me, but please, if anything comes up remember that you can come to me," she smiled, he could see she was sad that he wasn't letting her know, but determined to not press the issue. She was so kind, he thought.

  
Sans finally made himself let go of her shoulders and they stood up.

  
"so," he was grasping at straws, trying to show her he was ok, to somehow make the situation less awkward. She probably pitied the hell out of him right now."beach house invitation still valid?"

  
She looked like she considered if she should be offended, but at the end just smiled at him.

  
"Tomorrow's Friday. We can take Papyrus' car and drive there tomorrow, so we can have two whole days there."  
That made him chuckle. So that was a "yes, numbskull, it's still valid" spoken in the language of politeness.  
"sounds great," he nodded as he took the book from the coffee table."then, i guess, i'll be seeing you soon? texting ya sooner?"

  
She nodded too and, closing the distance between them again, hugged him briefly."Goodnight, Sans."  
"goodnight, Y/n," he hugged her with his free hand, nuzzled her temple with his cheekbone and then pressed his teeth to it.

  
Realizing what he's done, he let go of the girl, a blue blush growing more vibrant by the second. He was too exhausted to be flustered, but he did let out a soft, almost apologetic laugh before teleporting to his and his brother's apartment.

  
This can't go on like this. He needs to tell her. And soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter - going to the beach! Don't forget your sanscreen!  
> Also, Reader and Sans finally have a heart to heart.


	7. The Getaway. Part 1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader, Sans and Papyrus come to the beach house and find a comfortable way of living together. Reader tries to keep up with Papyrus' energetic nature. She then tries to do something nice for Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, guys, I'm so, so thankful for your support, over the moon from each click, kudos and, especially, comment <3  
> I'm also sorry for this being somewhat late, I just couldn't stop adding details and additional parts.
> 
> Also, Author is an avid swimmer and a big sea enthusiast, so I'm sorry if some of you won't be able to relate to the enthusiasm with which I'm describing the sea in this and the next chapter. I still hope you'll have a good time!

  
He kissed her.

  
  
It was a skeleton kiss.

  
  
Y/n just stood there for a few moments after Sans had left, trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened in the last half an hour.

  
He was about to leave, but then she gave him her new book, he praised her, she got all emotional and then...then she got to see a side of Sans she had never really seen before. Sure, she started having some suspicions when she began catching him sighing a certain way or looking thoughtful and really tired when he thought no one was looking. And those nightmares he has so often...But this was more than she could ever hope he would show her.

For a moment, she was scared he'd lose his nerve and just teleport away, so when he didn't she tried to do everything she could to make him feel as safe and as cared for as possible.

  
And then, before leaving, he kissed her on the temple.

  
She knew what it was as soon as she felt the slight pressure of his closed teeth to her skin. Papyrus had given her a few kisses on the cheek in exchange for her - very friendly, very platonic - smooches to his cheekbone.

  
But this was...wow.

  
She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them, then crossed them again and sat on the couch. Then she stood up again and went to the kitchen for no particular reason. She went back to the couch to get her mug of tea and then proceeded to the kitchen again, her thoughts, however, being far, far away.

  
She wasn't naive or stupid, she knew that Sans had a certain affection for her.

  
Monster souls were made of mercy, compassion and love. And a monster's soul composed their entire being. So, thinking logically, these compassionate, loving beings could come to like a person fairly quickly and do so sincerely. Y/n often reminded herself of that when she thought of how fast she became friends with Papyrus, Sans, Undyne and Alphys. The one time she met Toriel the kindsouled boss monster exchanged numbers with her and even called her up a few times to ask how Y/n was doing.

  
So it wouldn't be surprising that Sans, Papyrus' brother, would want to friendly, platonically smooch her the same way his brother did, just out of pure gratitude for being there when he was feeling down.

  
Seemed logical.

  
Very much so.

  
Y/n sighed heavily and put her already cold tea in the microwave, while staring blankly ahead of herself.

  
She realized she didn't want it to be that. She was human - egoism was an instinctual thing for her race and she oh so selfishly wanted Sans for herself. She was never one to fall head over heels in love and even when she did feel strong affection for someone, she kept it quiet for a long while, reasoning with herself and thinking through all the options and possible outcomes, giving herself time to see if it was a simple stupid crush or a longtime thing.

  
She was a kind human, if she loved someone she would want to do absolutely anything and everything for the one who she loved and who loved her back.

  
And she oh so wanted for Sans to love her.

  
The mere thought made goosebumps appear on her arms.

  
She strongly believed that a person's good deeds or good traits should be noticed and praised, and all her life she did just that, not worrying much about how it came off. It was just the right thing to do. Her friends, of course, got most of it. Sans, however, would be drowning in compliments if she didn't hold herself back.

  
She now wondered if she shouldn't have kept herself from saying more good things to him, judging by how much pain and secrets he seemed to be carrying all by himself.  
Her eyes narrowed from the pain in her chest. Her heart, her soul literally ached for the skeleton and she wanted nothing more than to help him feel better.

  
She opened the microwave before it could make the annoying high-pitched sound and sat at the kitchen table, looking out the window.

  
She remembered the enchanting glow of his eyes - usually glowing white dots of light, they could get bigger or smaller depending on the skeleton's mood. The cyan blue glow she saw today was indescribable, otherworldly. It was beautiful, magical, like everything about Sans, like Sans himself, but even more so. She concluded that the flash of blue she saw when he first teleported her was his eye glowing.

  
So then that was the color of his magic.

  
The realization made Y/n blush more than it maybe would have been reasonable.  
She had seen a few monsters use their magic, it wasn't something new. Undyne and Papyrus were always very generous with using theirs in various ways while cooking, so she got the chance to see it up close.

  
But seeing that cyan blue eye staring so intensely at her, even the memory of it made her shiver. Not from fear, no. There was just something so important in learning about Sans' magic.  
Cyan blue. It suited him, she thought.

  
She took a careful sip of her tea, making sure it wasn't too hot, then drank some more, now more confidently. She put the mug on the table and the sound of the mug connecting with wood was clearly heard in the otherwise quiet room.

  
So he kissed her.

  
He was upset, vulnerable, then thankful for her support. Monsters usually wore their souls on their sleeves and although Y/n knew that Sans had a talent of hiding things behind his smile, this may have been just his honest, emotional monster nature showing.

  
She saw that she made him blush on some occasions, but he said it himself - he wasn't used to compliments and she tended to give him quite a few. He made her blush too, but that was because she realized she had a crush on the stout skeleton and, lately, because she confessed to herself just how important he has become to her, much more than a simple crush. Like he filled a spot in her heart that was hollow before, and filled it so perfectly that she wished he would want to stay there forever. She could feel that Sans came to view her as important too, but monsters had a tendency to cherish their friends very much and behave very affectionately towards them.

  
The last thing she wanted to do was to assume.

  
By the looks of it, Sans didn't need for things to get more complicated and it would break her heart if he couldn't see her as someone he could confide in, someone he could trust, especially after the trust he showed her today.

  
Judging by Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys, monsters viewed romantic relationships on a whole different level and, again, judging by Papyrus, one could easily spook a monster away with unwanted advances. She doubted Sans would ever have a dramatic speech for her if she confessed, she gathered he was one to try and lighten up the situation with a joke. And then try and have as little contact with her as possible.

  
That was a logical train of thought. Was it? Wasn't it?

  
She hated being in love, because it made thinking clearly a challenge, all the different emotions and fears screwing with her thought process.

  
She sighed heavily and drank some more tea.

  
She just wanted Sans to be happy. For him to have someone to talk to, to trust. She could keep her emotions in check if needed.  
But really, the level of affection she had for the stout skeleton was something Y/n never felt before, she would be impressed if her heart wasn't drowning in a whole cocktail of emotions, wishes and fears.

  
She stood up, walked to the sink and washed the mug. For a moment, she just stood there, her thoughts blank.  
"Not the time to be a dumbass, Y/n," she said to herself and walked back to the couch.

  
Coming closer to it, she heard the sound of her phone vibrating.  She walked faster and picked up the smartphone.

  
It was Papyrus.

  
"Hello, Pap-"

  
"Y/N FINALLY! AND HELLO TO YOU TOO!" the loud skeleton started to talk immediately, "ME AND SANS HAVE BEEN WORRIED AS TO WHY YOU WOULDN'T ANSWER THE PHONE THE PREVIOUS 17 TIMES I CALLED"

  
"Oh I-"  
"BUT YOU'RE HERE NOW AND THAT IS GOOD. SANS? SANS, YOU SLEEPYSKULL, DID YOU GO TO YOUR ROOM? Y/N ANSWERED THE PHONE, SHE IS QUITE ALRIGHT! SHE WAS JUST- WHAT WERE YOU DOING, Y/N, IF THE GREAT PAPYRUS MAY ASK?"  
"Drinking tea, then washing the mug," she answered with a soft giggle.

  
"SHE WAS ENJOYING A HOT BEVERAGE AND THEN BEING CLEANLY! YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM HER!! SO THEN, WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY," he cleared his nonexistent throat, "I WANTED TO SAY THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAPPILY ACCEPT YOUR INVITATION TO SPEND THE WEEKEND AT YOUR MUCH RESPECTED GRANDMOTHER'S BEACH HOUSE!"  
"Glad to hear that, Papyrus," she sincerely said, a wide smile forming on her lips.

  
"YES, YES INDEED," he seemed happy with himself, but his next words were even louder than his normal voice, excitement getting stronger with each word the skeleton spoke."BUT TO THE MAIN REASON FOR ME CALLING YOU! Y/N, I AM SO VERY THANKFUL! JUST...WOWIE!! THE FIRST COPY, AND FOR ME, AND YOU WROTE SUCH LOVELY WORDS ON THE FIRST PAGE, YOU'RE SO VERY SKILLFUL AT BEING A GREAT FRIEND!"  
"Oh, Papyrus, I just-"  
"I WILL NOT LET YOU BEST ME AT BEING A GREAT FRIEND, I AM, AFTER ALL, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! MASTER OF FORMING AND MAINTAINING FRIENDSHIPS! SO I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO BE PREPARED FOR TOMORROW, AS I WILL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE OUR FRIENDSHIP!"  
"Papyrus, honey, you really don't have to," Y/n let out a soft, warm laugh.

  
"IT IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE! SUCH ACTS AS YOURS SHOULD NOT GO UNANSWERED, IT IS A QUESTION OF MY HONOR! BESIDES I...REALLY AM...VERY...touched that you gave me this book."

  
Papyrus' soft voice caught Y/n off-guard, the tall skeleton only used such a voice if speaking his normal one was very frowned upon in certain places(such as theatres) or when he was being extremely serious.  
"I'm happy you liked your present, honey," she cooed, "I really wanted you to have it."

  
"A-HEM, YES, WELL, THANK YOU! NOW THAT YOU SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED TO GET MY LEVELS OF 'FLUSTERED' ABOVE EVERY REASONABLE NORM, I AM OF THE OPINION THAT WE SHOULD RETIRE TO SLEEP."  
"Ok, Papyrus, good night and sleep tight."  
"AS SOON AS I COME UP WITH A PLAN HOW TO FULLY REPAY YOU FOR YOUR STELLAR DISPLAY OF FRIENDSHIP!"  
"Get some sleep first, you'll think better in the morning," she chuckled.

  
"THAT IS ACTUALLY A WONDERFUL IDEA! I WILL DO THAT!"  
"Happy to hear. If you'll see Sans, please tell him I said goodnight again."  
"WILL DO, Y/N!" Papyrus said, clearly happy to have a mission.  
"Goodnight, Papyrus."  
"GOODNIGHT, Y/N!"  
  
She ended the call and checked her phone. Sure enough, there were 17 missed calls.

  
Damn, Papyrus was adorable.

  
  
  
***

  
  
  
There was just so_much_to_do.

  
She started running around the city as soon as the church bell near her apartment complex hit ten times. Usually she loved sleeping in, but as there was a very special weekend ahead of her, she wanted to be sure she got everything to make it as good as possible.

  
Papyrus promised to pick her up at 4 PM from her house, but before that, she wanted to visit several other stores and buy some things.  
She was in the sports store, in the book store, in the hobby shop. Somewhere between walking from the drug store to the cookshop, she noticed something in the window of a clothes store and ran into it, internally waving her money goodbye.

  
By 2 PM she was home again, taking a shower, spending twice the amount of shower gel and shampoo she would normally - a clear sign she was excited and wanted to look better. She knew the amount of used "bath goo" didn't change anything, but it made her feel like it did.

  
She spend a while in the bathroom, fussing over her appearance, already planning what she would wear. Should she wear what she bought today? Or should she change into it later? Would Sans even like it? Or would he find the idea too cheesy? Then again, it was Sans.

  
Goddamn it, she was _really_ in love with that skeleton.

  
Her first and foremost priority, however, was to try and make him as happy and relaxed as she could. How he viewed her was important, but his wellbeing was invaluable.

  
So there she was, walking up to her closet and just standing there, deep in thought. Damn, she ran all around town for several hours doing stuff, and _clothes_ got her confused. The weather was warm and sunny, so no sweaters, longsleeved shirts. But, then again, they will be riding in a car with the roof down, so...

  
_"Ugh,"_ she rolled her eyes and went to her couch. She'll paint her nails and do her make up first, she'll think about clothes later. She hated being in love.  
20 minutes later, her nails were done and the light make up on her eyes was done too. She would wash it off soon anyway, but, goddamn it, she wanted Sans to see her at least a bit dolled up at first.  
She hoped he wouldn't think she was shallow because of tha-

  
_"OH WAIT, HE'S A SKELETON, HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T NOTICE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HUMAN MEN DON'T EVEN LOOK INTO THOSE KINDS OF DETAILS.  Stop overthinking things, oh my god."_

  
She sighed and glanced at her phone.  A hour and a half to go. Still, she was anxious already.  
Did she get everything? She promised Papyrus to buy several packs of spaghetti, she did. Bottles of ketchup - check. Things from the sports, hobby and cookstores - check.

  
She looked at her phone again. A minute has passed.

  
She let her head fall back on the couch and let out an exasperated sigh. Bored, she waved her hands, hoping her nail polish would dry faster.

  
Soon enough, she was, again, standing in front of her closet.

  
God fucking damn it.

 

  
  
***

 

  
  
  
Sans' POV

 

  
  
They were late.

  
Usually Sans wouldn't give a damn. But they were late to pick up Y/n and he could hardly stop himself from teleporting to her side, he wanted to see her so much. At the same time, he didn't want to. But he wanted to more than anything.

  
Love was complicated.

  
He left extremely awkwardly yesterday and he was sure she understood that what he did was, indeed, a kiss.

  
He decided he'd act as if nothing had happened and, if she asked, say that it was his intention to do that. Monsters are, after all, emotional creatures. At least while Papyrus was around, that was the plan of action. Later, maybe - no, definitely - in the evening, he would talk to her, no bullshit. He would tell her how he feels.

  
Or should he maybe do that tomorrow? That way, there'd be less awkward time between them after his confession.

  
After all, she was a beautiful human girl, with that shiny h/c hair and those stunning e/c eyes. Her hands were so delicate and her skin was so soft, the mere thought made Sans sight dreamily. Her voice was incredibly soothing to him and her personality alone was enough for him to lose sleep over. And even her smell - it made Sans' soul swell and beat more steadily, bringing him a feeling of serenity.

  
She was kind and gorgeous, and everything, every bit about her was perfect, and he was, well...

  
"SANS!!!" his brother's voice plucked him out of his daydreaming.  
"yeah, bro?" he lazily replied, resting his elbow on the car door and leaning on it with his skull.  
"YOU SLEEPYSKULL," his brother dramatically sighed, "WE WILL BE ARRIVING AT Y/N'S SHORTLY, THE KIND GPS NAVIGATOR FRIEND SAID."  
"ok," Sans shrugged, but mentally he was bracing himself.

  
He would tell her. He had too.

  
Judging by the signs, she probably would be willing to give him a chance.

  
A chance is all he hopes for.  
A chance not to hide the way he looks at her.  
A chance to show her how much she matters to him.  
A chance to dare and touch her more often. Touch her hand, her hair - the little touches he's been holding himself back from lately.

  
To think, that there could be even the slightest chance of him being able to sit beside her and hug her, run his bony fingers through her hair, lean his skull to her head and spend time just like that, for as long as possible.

  
To think that she could actually return his feelings-

  
Oh.  
  
_OH._  
  
  
Sans felt like someone poured a bucket of boiling oil and then another bucket of ice cold water on his soul. His relaxed pose gone, his body now tense like a wound up string, he felt his breathing pause as he looked at the sidewalk in front of Y/n's apartment complex.  
  
A couple of humans were standing there. A guy and a girl. They looked lovely together, her being beautiful, dressed in a long green summer dress and her hair slightly moving from the wind, and him being tall, slim and handsome, wearing a smart grey suit.  
They looked like they were having a wonderful time talking to each other - the both of them smiling and seemingly even chuckling. A perfect human couple. Perfect, Sans thought, except for one thing.  
  
The girl was Y/n.  
  
The last few seconds while the car was pulling over near them, Sans felt his soul sink deeper and deeper.

  
Had he been assuming?

  
Was she just being a kind, warmhearted friend?

  
He could see, feel that she acted differently around him, had some affection for him, did he mistake friendship, pity and kindness for possible romantic feelings?

  
No, no, that couldn't be-  
  
"Y/N!" Papyrus' voice rang out, making Y/n, the young man and Sans look at the tall skeleton.

  
Sans saw how Y/n raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at Papyrus, than at him. Papyrus, meanwhile, parked his car and practically jumped out of it, hurrying to Y/n. Sans himself was still in the car, instinctively falling back to his mask of lazy boredom while his mind was frantically analyzing Y/n's every expression.

  
She smiled as she saw him, that was good. She then looked at Papyrus and was instantly squeezed in the taller skeleton's embrace. She looked happy about that. The young man behind her looked somewhat surprised, but amused.

  
As Y/n and Papyrus shared their hug, Sans looked over the male human once more. He was really tall for a human - practically the same height as Papyrus. He had light brown hair, his face had many sharp angles only accented by his smart-looking glasses and perfectly-fitting grey suit. His nose was somewhat long, his eyes were big and grey, his lips were thin, a little polite smile playing on them.

  
He was so, so human.

  
"I'm so happy to see you guys," Y/n said as she let go of Papyrus.  
"I AM HAPPY TO SEE YOU TOO, Y/N! SANS IS, TOO, RIGHT, BROTHER?"

  
Sans gave a half-lazy, half-unsure wave and a chuckle. Papyrus nodded enthusiastically and continued, looking at the tall human:  
"WHO'S YOUR FRIEND??"  
Papyrus was now practically in the guys face. The Guy, however, only smiled politely and extended a hand.

  
"Sean Reno," he said and, damn it, his voice was calm and pleasant like the rest of him. Sans couldn't help but let out a quiet "hmph" when Papyrus excitedly started to shake the guy's hand and introduce himself, the next moment, however, the stout skeleton was already groaning silently at how childish he himself was thinking and acting.

  
He was better than this.

  
Next thing he knew he was already walking towards the three of them.

  
"hey there, Y/n," he said in a nonchalant voice while opening his arms to Y/n, who gladly hugged him. He hugged her back while looking up to meet the young man's eyes, mustering the best "laid-back, but confident" look he had in his arsenal. Mister Reno gave him a polite smile.

  
"SANS, WE HAVE A NEW ACQUAINTANCE," Papyrus said excitedly, clearly waiting for a formal meeting between the two.  
"have we now?" Sans chuckled, letting go of Y/n, who stepped back, giving the human man and the stout skeleton room.  
"hey, bud," he shrugged and smiled at the guy and extended a bony hand, "Sans. Sans the skeleton."  
"Sean. Sean, the lawyer," the young man shook Sans' hand.

  
"lawyer, huh?" Sans smiled a mischievous grin,"then maybe you can tell me if that one thing about old lawyers is true?"  
The smartly dressed man clearly didn't expect the question and that made Sans even more giddy on the inside, especially because he could feel Y/n grinning beside him.  
"What thing?"  
"that old lawyers never die, they just _lose their appeal_."

  
"Wha...?" the confused face of the young lawyer did it for Y/n, who burst out giggling, making Sans contently chuckle.  
Papyrus, however, was not impressed.  
"SANS, THIS IS A NEW ACQUAINTANCE, CAN'T YOU BE DECENT FOR EVEN A LITTLE?!"  
"sorry, bro."

  
Sans was not sorry an everyone knew it.

  
Mister Reno seemed to regain his composure and looked at Y/n, who was smiling widely.  
"I see what you meant when you said he was a funny guy."  
"He is," Y/n said proudly and Sans could feel himself smiling contently.  
"SO ARE YOU TWO GOOD FRIENDS? DO YOU HANG OUT OFTEN?? HOW DID YOU MEET???" Papyrus was almost bursting from curiosity.

  
Y/n and Sean looked at each other and chuckled.

  
"Actually, I haven't seen Y/n in a couple of years," the lawyer said."When _was_ the last time we met?"  
"The opening of your bar?" the girl offered and Sean's face lit up like Christmas.  
"Yes, yes, you're right! You were in that black cocktail dress with silver accents, I remember."

  
"WOWIE, YOU REMEMBER WHAT SHE WAS WEARING? YOU REALLY ARE GOOD FRIENDS IF HE REMEMBERS THAT! Y/M, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT SEAN THE LAWYER WORE?"

  
"I do," Y/m giggled, "a light-lavender suit, a white shirt and a purple tie."  
"One does not forget an outfit like that," Sean chuckled and Y/n happily nodded.  
"SANS, ISN'T THAT JUST A WONDERFUL DISPLAY OF FRIENDSHIP AND ATTENTION?"  
"yeah, sure, Pap," Sans shrugged with a smile and stuck his hands into his pockets, internally bothered by the display. The two were basically finishing each other's sentences and it was becoming harder and harder to stay relaxed, or at least outwardly relaxed.

  
Perhaps it wouldn't bother Sans as much if he didn't confess to himself earlier that he hopelessly fell in love with Y/n and if he wasn't planning to tell her that literally today or tomorrow.

  
As it was, he felt uneasy, a paranoid feeling making him feel like she was slipping right through his bony fingers.

  
"Well, it's been really nice to run into you, Sean," Y/n said, smiling sweetly, "but it's illegal to park here for more than 10 minutes, and-"  
"IS IT?!! SANS, GRAB A BAG, I'LL GET THOSE TWO! FORGET IT, I'LL CARRY ALL OF THEM!"

  
Sans watched with a smile as his brother grabbed the three bags Y/n had near her and heroically carried them to the car. He then looked at Y/n and his eye socket twitched as he saw Sean lean down to give her a brief hug which she gladly returned.

  
He wasn't against her hugging other people.  
It's Mister Perfect here he had a problem with.

  
But the hug was over and Papyrus was beside them again.  
"IT WAS A PLEASURE MEETING YOU, SEAN RENO THE LAWYER, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NOT FORGET YOU!"  
"Pleasure's all mine," the young man chuckled and turned to Sans, who offered him a nonchalant look.  
"yep, nice to meet you. and remember, if you ever decide to change your carrier to cooking, you'll probably be a good _sue_ chef."

  
Y/n gave a quiet laugh, Sean chuckled, and Papyrus stormed off to the car, screaming.

  
"Have a nice weekend, Y/n," the young lawyer said and the girl nodded.  
"You too, Sean," she smiled and began walking to the car, Sans walking beside her, happy that the unexpected socializing was over.

 

  
  
***

 

  
  
They've been driving for 40 minutes now. The ride was fun, Papyrus was talking to the GPS navigator, Sans was cracking jokes, Papyrus was screaming, Y/n was laughing.

  
But for some dumb reason, Sans just couldn't let it go, questions sitting in the back of his mind the last 40 minutes.

  
"so, ugh, that Sean guy," Sans started, keeping his voice as nonchalant as possible and not letting his relaxed grin fall from his facial bones, "know him long?"  
"Um," Y/n looked at him(they were both driving in the back seat) with slight confusion,"Yeah, why?"  
"just curious," he shrugged.

  
"YES, Y/N, PLEASE TELL US HOW YOU MET YOUR TALL LAWYER HUMAN FRIEND!"

  
"Well, since you asked so nicely," Y/n chuckled."We met at a party his friend threw. The party was huge, he rented a club, and there was a lot of people."

  
So he had rich friends and was probably rich too, _perfect_.

  
"Some of my friends knew his friend and dragged me along. The problem was, there was much, much alcohol and I drink rarely and in small doses. So I found myself at a table, drinking orange juice while my friends were a bit further away doing shots and playing party games."

  
Sans chuckled and that got Y/n's attention. He shrugged, smiling warmly.  
"nothing', just easy to imagine you like that."  
"That's because you know me so well," she smiled back and Sans felt calmer, like maybe she did like him. She said that he knew her well. They did have a lot in common.

  
"So there I was, somewhat overdressed, drinking my juice, when I see a guy in a honest-to-god suit and tie, sitting at the corner table and drinking tea. I make my way to him and try to communicate one simple question over the music 'How did you get the bartender to make you tea?'. He laughed and we ended up spending the whole night at that table, drinking tea, looking like we just came from a theatre and taking pictures of or drunk comrades."

  
She laughed quietly, Papyrus laughed loudly. Sans made a noise that maybe could be classified as laughter.  
Could that guy get any more perfect?

  
"Then he took me home in his BMW, and after that we met sometimes at parties his friend threw, finding ways to spend time as snobs while everyone else was having drunk fun. We kinda always found each other by our clothing habits. And, well, he's tall, easy to spot."

  
Fuck.

  
"THAT'S A SPLENDID AND FUNNY STORY, Y/N! IT IS GOOD TO FIND SOMEONE WHO SHARES YOUR MATURE OUTLOOK ON LIFE!!"  
"Well, I wouldn't call my outlook on life exactly 'mature', but-"

  
"-Turn left in 200 meters-"

  
"THANK YOU, GPS NAVIGATOR FRIEND!"  
"Well, we're almost t-...Sans?" he heard her call his name and tore his eyes from the landscape to look at her.  
"yeah?"  
"You okay? Did I say something wrong?" her voice was gentle, worried. Sans managed a smile he hoped wasn't too sad.

  
"nah...no, Y/n," he shook his head."all this nature around just makes a skeleton think, y'know?"  
"Oh," she looked at him with her piercing e/c eyes, but didn't ask anything."Ok, sorry for bothering you."  
"n-nah, it's not like that, come on, Y/n, you're never a bother," now he felt bad for lying. Then again, better than telling her right then and there that jealousy and thoughts that maybe that guy was a more fitting match for her were eating him from the inside.

  
Y/n gave him a small smile and before he had a chance to find something to say Papyrus started asking directions, as the GPS didn't pick up the unnamed smaller roads leading to the cabin.

 

  
  
***

 

  
They were there.

  
They were there and it was amazing.

  
The cabin turned out to be a small two-story house. It had a kitchen, a dining/fireplace room and a bathroom on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second.

  
Sans was used to falling asleep near Papyrus, so sharing a bed with his brother wouldn't be an issue. Hopefully, he wouldn't have nightmares the next two nights, it would be a shame to wake the younger skeleton and worry him in the middle of the night.

  
Y/n happily showed the skeleton brothers the garden her grandmother always diligently tended to, the old swing with which Papyrus instantly fell in love with, and then the path to the beach. It was a 10 minute walk if you took a path through the forest, and Papyrus was reaching Disney-princess-levels of adoring every flower and animal he saw. Y/n found it endearing and began telling Papyrus about all the local flora and fauna to the taller skeleton's utter joy. Sans, for all his current heavy thoughts, couldn't help but fall in love with her even more because of how she treated his brother.

  
When they reached the beach, Sans and Papyrus took a huge shocked breath.

  
The beach near the city was not always crowded, but it always had at least some people. Here, there was no one. The sedge swaying in the wind and small waves quietly washing over the sand were the only sounds, along with the sounds of the forest, that could be heard.

  
Sans loved it from the very first second. He looked at Y/n, wanting to tell her just that, but the words never came out as he saw her expression. A calm, happy smile was on her lips and her eyes were shining brightly with endearment as they were focused on the sea. It was like she was looking at an old and dear friend. The sea breeze was ruffling her h/c hair and the sun made it shine beautifully.

  
"i _sea_ you like it here a lot," he noted and his chuckle got stuck in his nonexistent throat as she set her gaze on him and the endearing look not only didn't go away, but became warmer, gentler.  
"I _shore_ do," she answered, looking him over with a smile.

  
He finally was able to chuckle lightly, his cheekbones no doubt bluish as he looked to his brother, who was being suspiciously quiet despite their puns.  
"bro, do yo-"

  
"SANS," Papyrus interrupted him, his voice even - Sans knew that voice, it was the calm before the storm.

  
"yeah, Pap?"  
"THIS PLACE. THE FOREST. THE SEA. THE LITTLE RUSTIC HOUSE...IT IS SO...SO..."

  
Here it comes. Sans couldn't help but grin already.

  
"AMAZING! WONDERFUL! EXTRAORDINARY!! OUTSTANDING!! **PHENOMENAL!!!** " his brother threw his hands up in the air, his excited shouting easily drowning out the sound of waves.  
The tall skeleton ran to the sea, then abruptly stopped, turned around, ran back and swept Y/n into his arms, lifting her from the ground and squeezing her in a powerful hug.

  
"Ah! Papyrus!" the girl laughed despite the air being violently squeezed out of her.  
"THANK YOU FOR INVITING US HERE!! YOU'RE SUCH A TERRIFIC FRIEND!!!"  
"I-ah, you're always welcome here," she smiled, her cheeks became a bit rosy and she hugged the gleeful monster back.

  
Sans looked at the two, his eye sockets half-lidded, his soul growing three sizes by the feel of it. He would be ready to do anything for this to last, for these two to remain as happy as this, he would endure anything for that.

  
"Sans," Y/n called. Her and Papyrus were now looking at him and he realized that he may have become lost in thought.  
"yeah?"  
"COME HERE FOR A GROUP HUG, YOU LAZYBONES!" his brother chided lightly, his happy smile not fading.

  
Oh, right. He wasn't an observer in this happy moment. He was a participant.

  
Sans shrugged, trying not to seem too touched, and made two steps, instantly being also swept up in his brother's powerful embrace, him and Y/n now being squished together.  
His brother and Y/n laughed joyfully and he realized he was laughing too, his soul fluttering with happiness.

  
"you two, makin' me all sentimental," he threw an arm around each of them, bringing them all closer and making his brother and Y/n smile approvingly.  
"or should i say," he grinned mischievously, " _sanstimental._ "

  
"OK THE MOMENT IS OVER!" Papyrus practically dropped them, furious. Both Sans and Y/n landed safely on their feet, laughing and holding onto each other.  
"THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL BE GOING INTO THE WATER NOW," the tall skeleton gave them a bit-to-dramatic-to-be-true displeased look and sprinted off to the sea with a joyful laugh.  
"NYEHEHEH!!! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL MAKE THIS GORGEOUS BEACH REMEMBER ME!!"

  
"heh..."  
"Hah.."

  
Sans looked at Y/n, who looked back at him. The two smiled.

  
"thanks, Y/n," he said softly, his eye sockets half-closed in contentment.  
She nodded and her hands squeezed his forearms a bit tighter, prompting him to do the same instinctively.

  
Stars, don't let this reset. He'd rather die.

  
"Um," Y/n smiled somewhat bashfully and glanced momentarily at his brother before returning her gaze to him."How well does Papyrus swim?"  
"like a bag o' bones," he admitted honestly with a shrug.

  
The two shared a laugh and Sans quickly teleported them to Papyrus' side before the fabulous, arm floaty-wearing skeleton could brave the waters alone.

 

  
  
  
***

 

  
  
  
Y/n's POV

 

  
  
This was a day.

From the minute Papyrus stepped out of the car he was just bursting of excitement over everything. Walking on grass, seeing the house(every room was it's own individual reason for excitement), taking the path through the forest, seeing the beach, swimming in the sea - everything seemed to only power the tall skeleton's enthusiasm.

  
Sans was more silent, but because she glanced at him so often she could notice how much he appreciated the same things as well. He offered countless house-, forest- and sea-related puns and his expression was that of content.

  
Y/n was happy the skeletons liked the place.

  
She also tried to keep up with Papyrus, who wanted to do everything and anything that could be done.

  
She swam with him in the sea numerous times, gladly showing him some swimming styles and playing some games with him. She doubted she would ever forget his gleeful squeal when she decided to show-not-tell him how the whole concept of "effective mass underwater" works. She swept him in her arms and carried him around, and Sans was the one who laughed the most at that.

  
Sans himself was a good - although lazy - swimmer, despite being literally just bones. It sometimes seemed like rules of physics just didn't apply to him.

  
Scratch that, he was a magical skeleton who could teleport. Rules could be thrown out the window.

  
They then had a competition in building sandcastles. Papyrus was suprisingly amazing at it, but instead of a castle he build a bust of himself. Sans took a handful of wet sand, placed it on the ground and wrote "cool castle" beside it. Y/n made a little castle with a few towers and dug a moat around it. They decided that they were all winners, despite Papyrus throwing a fit because of his brother's laziness. The latter said he enjoyed watching them have fun more than building his own castle.

  
Y/n was touched, Papyrus didn't buy it.

  
They stayed at the beach for a while. Sans seemed to enjoy just laying there, sleeping in the sun. Y/n was more of a swimmer and boy, did Papyrus make her prove that, asking her to go for a swim 4 or 5 times. She made sure to swim with the tall skeleton until he was ready to go out of the water. She then allowed herself to swim further from shore, diving, coming up and diving again, coming out of the water only when her fingers started to wrinkle.

  
They left the beach only after watching the sunset, both Papyrus and Sans watching with awe as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon, behind the gigantic mirror that was the sea. Y/n glanced at Sans and caught him looking at her too. She smiled warmly and there was a bit of green on Sans' cheekbones, the golden glow of the sun and the blue color of his magic mixing.  
  
At the cabin, Y/n revealed that she bought not only a bag-full of spaghetti, but also tomatoes, cheeses and spices to make homemade sauce. Papyrus was overjoyed and was cooking the very sauce at the moment.

In the meantime Y/n lighted a fire in the fireplace, placed a comfy chair near it and put a bottle of ketchup and a cup of tea near it. She knew Sans well enough by now to know that he would probably want to rest while they'll be cooking.

  
As Sans emerged from the bathroom after his shower, all cute in his blue t-shirt("They _sea_ me rollin', they hatin' " printed on it), grey sports pants and pink slippers, she gestured to the chair.

  
"Thought you'd like to relax while we're making dinner," she said, smiling at him and then resting her gaze on the rug, a sudden shyness overcoming her. Was this move too obvious? But she wanted him to feel comfortable in her home.

  
She looked at him again and almost jumped from surprise, the stout skeleton was standing much closer now, looking at her with so much tenderness...she hoped the light from the fireplace hid how rosy her cheeks became.

  
"that's very thoughtful, i, eh...well," the monster chuckled and rubbed the back of his skull bashfully, the bluish-green color on his cheekbones returning - Y/n thought he was incredibly handsome like this. " _tibia_ honest, i'm real touched."  
"Oh don't get _humerus_ with me, skeleton," she let out a laugh, "I wanted you to feel comfortable. Just tell me if I overdid it."

  
"n-nah, really," Sans looked at her, his smile fading a little and the lights in his eye sockets getting bigger as he looked at her, "thanks, it's perfect."  
"Ah. Well, good, then," she perked up and stepped to the side, allowing Sans to get to the chair. As he walked past her, she let herself look at his arms, now almost fully exposed by the short-sleeved shirt.

  
She remembered that, at first, Sans always had his hoodie on, even when it was warm in the room or hot outside. He also had a tendency to put his hands into his pockets a lot. She noticed those things because she so curious about him, yet rarely had the chance to look at him properly.  But then he started wearing just shirts a bit more when they were at his or hers, and bit by bit he got comfortable enough to seemingly not worry about what he wore around her.

  
Seemingly. Sans could be, after all, very secretive sometimes.

  
She smiled at the thought that he was comfortable around her as she was looking at how the light from the fireplace colored his ulna, radius and the exposed part of his humerus. He still was so fascinating to her, yet her fascination was now accompanied by a certain tenderness.

  
"huh, ketchup and tea? man, Y/n, you really thought of everything," he shot her a grateful look and all she could do was smile stupidly.  
Sans sat and leaned into the chair, closing his eye sockets with a content breath.  
Well, he liked this gesture. Maybe her idea for later wasn't as forward as she thought. In the mean time...

  
"Y/N!! THE TOMATOES BECAME SOUP-LIKE, I THINK THEY'RE READY!! SHOULD I STIR THE SAUCE WITH MY BONE ATTACK LIKE UNDYNE TAUGHT ME??"

  
"Oh nonononono wait!"

  
She ran to the kitchen as fast as she could without running into furniture, not noticing the look of pure endearment the stout skeleton had as he followed her with his eyes.

 

  
  
***

 

  
They closed the door behind them, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was already almost midnight and they had just put Papyrus to sleep, reading him Y/n's new book together.

  
Y/n loved Sans' voice, she was never as sure of it as when she had the chance to listen the older skeleton read to Papyrus. His voice was deep, calm and filled with warmth towards the one person Sans loved above everyone and anything else - his brother. Just listening to him sounding so loving made Y/n's heart flutter.

  
So there they were, standing in front of the bedroom door, looking at each other with wide grins.

  
"so you wanna go to sleep?" Sans asked in a whisper, the look in his eyes curious and even somewhat hopeful for something.  
"Nope," she answered immediately, just as quiet."I still want to-" _"Spend time with you!"_ "-hang out a bit, you?"

  
Sans seemed beyond pleased and they looked to the staircase.

  
"Shortcut? Would make much less noise than those old wooden stairs," she looked him over and added in a hurry," If you're not too tired, that is."  
Sans grinned widely.  
"glad to _sea_ you like them," he said warmly.  
" _Whale_ , they are very fun. And convenient," she answered, the same warmth in her voice.

  
He reached out and took her hand into his bony one and she couldn't help but lean a bit closer to him, her eyes focused on his.

  
"Um. Sorry for staring," she smiled apologetically.  
"it's ok, you'd have seen it sooner or later," he shrugged and his voice was calm, yet Y/n knew that some of that confidence was faked. She wouldn't call him out on it, though, she was guilty of the same behavior too.

  
Sans squeezed her hand a bit tighter and closed his eyes. When he opened the left one, Y/n held her breath. The lights on the second floor were off and, in the darkness, his cyan blue eye glowed vibrantly.  
"you still ok?" he asked and she could spot slight worry in his voice. She smiled warmly, squeezed his hand tighter and dared to run her thumb over his metacarpals.

  
"Yep. Still think it's beautiful," she said, not letting her shyness get in the way of praising the skeleton.  
Sans fell silent, the looks they gave each other - that of tenderness and that of thankful endearment - speaking more than words could.  
For a moment, it felt like yesterday, but with Sans being less upset.

  
"thanks, never heard that before. well, aside from yesterday," he chuckled lightly, not taking his glowing eye from her.  
Y/n smiled and then spotted something in her peripheral vision. The kitchen lights were on.

  
Oh, they were in the living room already.

  
Sans was still holding her hand.

  
"Sans, I, um," she wanted to ask him about her idea, but wasn't sure if he would be up for it.  
"you want me to let go of your hand?" he asked, his warm tone now lightly laced with something else that sounded like either excitement or fear.  
"N-no. No." she looked at him and smiled when she saw his eyes, now white glowing lights again, light up.  
"good...good. 'cause i really don't want to," he said quietly, looking at Y/n affectionately.

  
  
Oh. Oh my.

  
  
Well, if Sans was willing to be brave today, she wouldn't let her insecurities stop her too.  
"I don't want to, too." she smiled, feeling a blush creep onto her cheeks. Sans wasn't doing any better, his cheekbones dimly glowing blue. He was, however, also smiling happily at her. She wished he could smile like that more often.

  
"I was wondering- I had this idea...would you be against a little fresh air right about now?"  
Sans seemed somewhat surprised, but nodded almost instantly.  
"sure, what'cha have in mind?"  
"Well, at first we need that bag over there, the big grey one," she nodded to the right and gave Sans' hand an experimental tug, urging him to come with. He gladly followed.

  
She took the bag and turned to him.

  
"we ready?"  
"Yep. Would it be difficult to 'find a shortcut' to the beach?"

  
Sans gave her a look like he didn't believe what she was saying. She giggled softly and nodded to the sports bag in her hand.

  
"Never made you carry this too."  
"Y/n, please. you insult me," he waved with his free hand and chuckled. They joked about fuzzy slippers filled with sand and decided to take off their shoes. Then his left eye glowed blue again and for a second there was that familiar feeling of weightlessness and, just for a moment, Sans' eye was the only source of light in the pitch black darkness.

  
Then she felt sand under her feet and the salty breeze touching her skin.

  
Sans' eyes returned to normal and he looked at her with a gentle smile.  
"so what's the idea?"  
She took a moment to listen to the sounds around them. A few crickets, but otherwise it was quiet. Perfect, the sea was still tonight.

  
"I wanted you to see the sky and the sea at night," she softly said and looked up, almost instantly however shifting her gaze to Sans.

  
The skeleton chuckled and looked up. His left eye lit up blue seemingly of it's own accord and his mouth slightly opened in awe.

 

  
  
  
Sans' POV

 

  
  
  
He held his breath, awestruck. The stars were so unbelievably bright, there was so many of them! Even from the forest near the city they lived in you couldn't see them quite like this.

  
The whole sky shined and shimmered, stars like diamonds on the dark velvet of the night sky. The Milky Way could clearly be visible, stretching from one side of the sky to another. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor could be seen right above their heads, the Cassiopeia not too far from them. He could instantly recognize Sagittarius and Scorpius, and was that the top half of Orion there? And Venus, Jupiter and Mercury, he could see the planets shining brighter than many of the stars.

  
And the sea! It seemed like it was perfectly still, the softest sound of water reaching the shore being the only indicator it was not. The water reflected the night sky, especially the larger planets, creating a mesmerizingly beautiful sight. This was- Y/n.

  
He looked at her, his glowing eye casting a light light onto her. He would be willing it away right now if his emotions weren't all over the place, the strongest being awe, reverence even.

  
"this is..Y/n, i..."

  
Damn, his speaking was failing him again. Y/n, however, seemed pleased.  
"I remembered how you told me about the astronomy book you liked so much. And your camping trip with friends in the spring, how you snuck out to go stargazing with Papyrus. So I, well," she shrugged, smiled somewhat bashfully and squeezed his hand."I decided to show you my favorite stargazing spot."

  
This was amazing. She was-

  
"Y/n, this is incredible," he said, unable to hide the gratitude and love in his gaze.  
She smiled and sighed with relief.  
"I'm glad. The Perseid meteor shower is also at it's culmination now, so it would be a shame if we missed it."

  
She was so perfect. He wanted to hug her, to kiss her, to express in every word known to man and monster how wonderful she was.

  
She put the bag on the sand.  
"I brought my old telescope and some blankets, and the tea I brought should still be hot, vacuum flask and all..."

  
He looked at her like she suddenly fell from heaven. Her e/c eyes were reflecting blue, his emotions and magic were going wild, causing his left eye to light up again.

  
"you...hah," he just couldn't pick the right words. He never was good with serious speeches, with declarations of feelings and eloquently phrased confessions. He had neither the experience nor the talent for it. He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment.

  
She was everything he'd ever wanted. All his life he was perfectly content being sure the only one he'd love would be his younger brother, and then he met her and she made him feel a whole diffrent kind of love. He realized he needed her. More and more with each passing day his soul longed for her and it felt like it was so overfilled with feelings for this kindhearted human girl that it became painful sometimes.

  
He looked at her again, taking in her appearance. His monster eyes, used to looking at things and monsters in the Underground, could see her with relative ease, and he was never as grateful as today for that. Her eyes were fixed on his and he never understood how he got so lucky, for her to look at him like that.  
His hands trembled a little and a moment later she was holding both his hands in hers, looking at him with slight worry.

  
"You okay?" she softly asked.

  
"i'm in love," he stated bluntly, his smile becoming somewhat sad as he sighed in defeat and hung his head - this was it, no turning back. "i'm in love with you, Y/n. like, stars, it's honestly baffling how skull over tarsals in love i am, like you couldn't imagine...um.."

  
He made himself shut up. Well, wasn't that a botched confession? He would have made a mental note to hit his skull on a wall later if he was able to think at all.

At the moment, no thought was able to form in his panicking mind, made only worse by the fact that the only sound he could hear was his soul pounding furiously.

  
"I could imagine," he heard her say quietly and immediately looked at her, eye sockets wide.

  
Y/n smiled, endearment clearly written across her beautiful face.  
"I'm in love with you too, Sans," she said, her voice soft, but confident.

  
"y-you are?" he was acting dumb and he knew it, but he just couldn't believe it. He hoped for it, but wouldn't dare assume. This was Y/n, the kind, beautiful Y/n, she deserved far better, she could have better, she-

  
"Yes," she nodded."I am. And I have been, for a while."

  
He looked at her with a mixture of love, awe and gratitude, he had to hold himself back from thanking her. Instead, he let go of her right hand, bringing his left hand up and gently resting in on her cheek. He held his breath as she leaned into his touch, a happy, loving smile on her face.  
He pulled her closer to him - she gladly obliged and rested her forehead against his frontal bone. Sans let go of her other hand, wrapping his arm around her waist. She wrapped one arm around his ribs, with her other hand she touched his facial bones, gently tracing his mandible with her thumb. He closed his eye sockets, letting out a shaky breath.

  
"stars, don't let this ever reset."

  
She stayed quiet, but leaned into him more, no doubt feeling he was talking about something painful. He would tell her, he would tell her everything. But at first-

  
Not opening his eye sockets, he moved his head slightly and was met halfway by Y/n, her soft, warm lips touching his teeth.  
For a moment, there was only that - the feeling of her lips on his teeth and of his soul becoming still before starting to pulse powerfully, rapidly, making the feeling of happiness rush through all of his bones, to the very tips of his phalanges.

  
The kiss ended and he dared to open his eyes, meeting Y/n's loving e/c ones.

  
Without a word, he smiled at her and leaned toward her again, eager to feel her lips once more, this time sliding his hand into her hair, reveling in the silky feeling. Her hand, in turn, caressed his skull, making him happily sigh into the kiss.

  
As soon as the kiss was over, he hugged her tightly, Y/n returning the hug with no less affection.  
He nuzzled his face into her hair, still not fully believing what was happening. In his mind, he could only think of one thing.

  
_"don't forget this, please don't forget this, please don't forget me, please don't forget me, please don't forget me,_ please don't forget me, don't forget me, just please don't forget me..."

  
Her soft, gentle hand caressed his cheekbone.  
"I won't," she cooed and he realized he had accidentally said his thoughts out loud."It's okay, Sans. I'm here, I'm with you. I won't ever forget you."  
  
He felt like both laughing and crying - from joy that he had her in his life, from relief that she returned his feelings and, most of all, from overwhelming happiness. He just breathed heavily into her hair, closing his eye sockets, letting her scent calm him down.

  
"you're so beautiful, Y/n," he murmured, an additional wave of joy gently crashing over his soul at the realization that he could, finally, tell her all the wonderful things that he thought about her.  
He could feel her smiling.

  
"You're very handsome too, Sans."

  
He couldn't hold back a chuckle.  
"c'mon, i'm not telling _fibulas_ here, Y/n."

  
He felt her distancing herself, thankfully she only went as far as to look him in the eye sockets. He could see a blush on her cheeks, her expression was, however, somewhat stern.

  
"Sans, you are very handsome in my eyes," she spoke clearly, confidently, looking him straight in the eyes and he was now blushing harder that he ever did.  
"y-ya can't be serious, i, em.." he shrugged and fell silent, looking to the side.

  
He completely forgot to take into consideration that, if she liked him too, there was a possibility that she would find him not only fascinating, but actually attractive. His thought processes kind of stopped at the idea that if she ever returned his feelings, she then could come to get used to his unusual - to say the least - appearance.

  
But for him to actually be considered attractive by her-

  
Her thumb traced his mandible lightly, pulling him out of his frantic thoughts and making him look at her again.

  
"I'm serious," she smiled warmly, looking over his facial bones and then into his eyes."You _are_ handsome, Sans. Please don't make me list all of he things I find attractive about you just to prove it, I'm pretty sure I'd be a flustered mess by the end of the first sentence."

  
His cheekbones were now completely blue to the point that he could see the faint blue glow in the lower half of his vision. He chuckled, she did too. His phalanges traced circles on her back, she in turn caressed his cheekbone gently.

Water reached the shore, washing over the sand in the smallest of waves.

"S-sans..." she called him quietly and he looked at her with adoration. Her gaze was focused on his ribs, a cyan blue light shining through his shirt. He chuckled bashfully.

"um, don't worry, this is...i'm just so happy that my soul materialized in my ribcage and became visible."

"Oh," she said softly, endearment never once leaving her tone. She gently put her hand on his sternum, over his soul, and he could feel the warmth of her skin through his shirt.

"Did I tell you that I find the color of your magic absolutely magnificent?" she spoke lovingly, caressing his sternum. Before he could say anything, she hugged him again, making his soul swell from how close it was to hers.

  
He sighed, his eye sockets half-closed dreamily as he leaned closer to rest his skull on her shoulder. His phalanges carefully combed through her wonderful h/c hair, the same way he always wanted to.

  
This was unreal. He could only dream of something like this.

  
Yet there she was, in his arms, looking at him so lovingly, smiling at him so warmly, touching him so affectionately.

They stayed like that for a while, until Sans felt that he was able to calm his soul enough for it to stop being visible.

  
He did just that, then straightened up and looked at Y/n, his calmness finally returning.

  
"so, meteor shower, huh?"  
"Yep."  
"i _siriusly_ adore you."  
  
They spent the rest of the night looking at the stars and talking, using every chance to - however slightly - touch each other. He would often put a lock of her hair behind her ear or let it fall loose. She would gently touch his shoulder or his skull. They both would often touch each other's hands, caressing bone and skin, sharing a smile and a warm look in the process.

  
They sat on blankets, covered in blankets, sharing blankets, throwing blankets at each other.

  
They exchanged good puns, bad puns, horrible puns, Sans shared some stories about puns that made Papyrus massively freak out, they both laughed until their ribs hurt.

  
Only once the sky changed color to a soft light blue and the east side of the horizon started to glow a golden-peach color did they realize that it was probably time to go home and get some sleep.  
They stayed, however, for another half an hour, watching the sunrise and making awful, sleepy sun- and morning-related puns. Sans then teleported them both to the cabin and they practically fell on Y/n's bed already sleeping, laying close to each other.

 

  
  
***

 

Papyrus' POV

 

  
By the time Papyrus, who was used to waking up early, found them in Y/n's room, they were sleeping soundly, cuddling together. Blankets were thrown all over the floor, together with an open sports bag,  evidence (a telescope, an empty vacuum flask and some seashells) clearly showing that the two were out at night. But they were so cute and his brother's sleeping face was so peaceful and happy that Papyrus couldn't find it in himself to be angry with the two untidy lovebirds.

  
Instead, he lifted a couple of blankets with his magic and put them as carefully as he could on his brother and Y/n. He then took the bag to wash the flask and clean the telescope from any sand that may have gotten on it.

  
He had to find something to do while the two night owls were sleeping in until noon.

  
At noon, he'll wake them up in his unique energetic manner. But, until then, the tall skeleton was content with remembering how happy his sleeping brother's face looked.

  
He would stretch, jog a few dozen laps around the house, call Undyne and report his progress, then make as much spaghetti as he'll have time for.  
The two sleepyheads will no doubt be so very glad that The Great Papyrus went ahead and made them such a substantial breakfast.  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was that! We did it, guys, Reader and Sans are together now! Still, there are things that need sorting out;)  
> This one was longer, I hope you liked it!
> 
> Already started part 2 ;)
> 
> P.S. The Perseid meteor shower is a thing that is actually happening now and will be happening until circa the 22nd-26th of August. So, if you live in the northern hemisphere and have someplace you can go to be far away from the city lights, I recommend you spend a night stargazing.  
> The Author herself is in the coutryside right now and let me tell you - amazing experience. 
> 
> 'till next time!


	8. The Getaway. Part 1.5.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a glimpse of, what he thinks, is one of the possible futures. It makes his soul weep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm currently between writing Part 2 and writing the next chapter for the Gaster story, but I caught up on Steven Universe yesterday and the episode "Mr.Greg" made me cry like a baby.  
> Granted, it may have just been a trigger to make me cry over things I kept bottled up for months, but when Pearl started singing, DAMN.
> 
> TMI, I get it.
> 
> So anyway, I decided to write this little songfic, because we recently explored that Sans has some jealousy and some insecurities, so it fits. 
> 
> You don't need to watch Steven Universe to understand the narrative of the chapter, but please listen to the song "It's over, isn't it?" and listen to the tragedy in it. Just...now that's voice acting.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T5rCSmduaY
> 
> (also, this male version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6E_EIxHLng  
> When he starts singing "It's over, isn't it?" all I see is Sans and my heart breaks)
> 
> So, yeah, enjoy reading!
> 
> OH! Right!  
> -WARNING-  
> Contemplations of suicide.

Sans found himself on a rooftop of a tall building.  
It was not even morning, the golden disc of the sun didn't show itself yet. The east side of the horizon was glowing lightly, but there was still time before sunrise.

  
Sans made a shaky breath, like he was on the verge of crying. In reality, these nervous breaths were plaguing him more and more over the last few years. The usual sunken-in bone under his eye sockets was much more prominent, giving him noticeable dark circles.

He was so tired, so broken. Sans was honestly surprised he hadn't _fallen down_ yet. 

  
Papyrus was very responsible and self-sufficient now.

  
Sans wouldn't mind _falling down_ , at least then his suffering would end.

  
The wind blew in his face, but it didn't bother him much. One could say, it went right _through_ him. 

  
Sans let out a joyless chuckle. _She_ would have liked that one.

  
But _she_ wasn't here.

  
  
  
_**I was fine with the men** _  
_**Who would come into her life now and again.** _

  
  
She was a kind, beautiful human girl. With the rise of her popularity as an author, more people noticed that. Young men came up to her at meet-and-greets with flowers, others sent her love letters. Some of her editors looked at her with affection, even a few of the executives at the channel where one of her books was adapted as an animated series looked at her with interest.

  
She never gave him reason to doubt her, however, he trusted her fully.  He watched as she politely smiled at someone who gave her a compliment at a signing and couldn't help but feel proud that she was with him.

  
  
**_I was fine 'cause I knew_ **

**_That they didn't really matter until you._ **

  
  
But, of course, _he_ ran into her one day. Yeah, sure, "ran into". They had mutual friends, he knew where she and her friends would be drinking coffee that day.  
He came into the coffee shop, all gallant and well-dressed like a prince from a fairy tale, his faithful 575 horses in the form of his BMW standing just outside. He came up to her and she, being her, welcomed him with a hug.

  
Something sparked between them then.

  
  
**_I was fine when you came_ **  
**_And we fought like it was all some silly game._ **

**_Over her, who she'd choose._ **

  
  
Sans wasn't worried at first. The times they ran into each other Sans smiled, yet his eyes warned the man to stay away. The lawyer was always polite, but never missed a chance to be a gentleman towards _her_.

  
He started inviting her to human things, like to his hairdresser to "ease the boredom of getting a haircut". Then he started taking every chance to drive her anywhere she needed, even when Sans could do that in the blink of an eye. Somehow Mr.Perfect already made plans to take her wherever she needed to go.

  
He would take her to parties full of rich, polite, witty people. They would spend time drinking non-alcoholic cocktails and watching as people got more and more drunk, then poking fun at them. She, being her, would immediately fit in, especially with him by her side.

  
She would then come to where she and Sans lived and tell him about the hairdresser _Sean_ took her to, the time when _Sean_ reached all the way to the top shelf, not even needing magic to get her the book she needed, about the amazing family doctor _Sean_ introduced her to.  
Sans _didn't_ have hair, he _would_ have had to use magic to get that book and _monster_ illnesses weren't a thing human doctors could treat. So he joked and made puns about hairdressers, about books, libraries and tall people, about medicine and doctors.

  
She laughed, but it was quiet, distant. Like she was distracted. Or was missing something.

  
  
   
**_After all those years I never thought I'd lose._ **

 

  
One fateful day, they had an argument, Sans' patience snapping and his insecurities making him say things he shouldn't have. He didn't remember what he said. He did remember her shocked and pained expression and how she told him to get out.  
When he came back, she was standing there, a sad expression on her face, a lone suitcase by her side. It was closed, but he knew it was full of the presents he had given her over the time. And she wasn't taking it with her, she just put it all in one place for his convenience, for him to decide what to do with it.

  
  
**_Its over, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it over?_ **

  
  
All of her stuff was already gone, her being there was just a final gesture, showing her respect for him, wanting to say goodbye in person. He tried to reason with her, to remind her of the times they had together, to apologize, to ask, to plead, to beg.

She shook her head.

  
  
**_It's over, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it over?_ **

  
No doubt she called Papyrus to look after him. She was kind, even if she didn't love him.  
When his brother came by to check on him, he found Sans on his knees, eye sockets empty, the sundress he first met her in clutched in his bony hands.

  
She had left it.

  
She had left him.

  
  
**_You won and she chose you,_ **  
**_And she loved you and she's gone._ **

  
  
Time passed and Sans was numb to almost everything. Until Papyrus, who was still her good friend, got invitations to her wedding.

  
At least Sans didn't have to lie about not being able to go. The agony in his soul made him severely sick, plagued by fever and migraines. When he was awake he wallowed in pity that she wasn't his anymore. When he was unconscious, he dreamt of their time together just to wail from heartbreak as he woke up.

  
  
_**It's over, isn't it?** _  
_**Why can't I move on?** _

  
  
When he got better, he could only compare his mental state to the time after Flowey had reset many dozens of times and Sans had given up on ever being free and happy.  
But that time they had Frisk, who fell to the Underground and freed everybody.

  
Sans, however, couldn't bring himself to believe that everything wouldn't reset again. Even after Frisk, the kind child who wouldn't have reset anyway, destroyed the Reset "button" Sans still couldn't dare and put his all into things out of fear that, eventually, it would turn out to be pointless when a sudden reset would throw him back into the Underground.

  
**_Nightmares, magic, constant tension._ **  
**_Resets, freedom, her attention._ **

  
It changed when he met her. He felt himself changing more and more, the more he was around her. She was like a spark that reignited his passions, his will to believe in a tomorrow that would never repeat itself.

  
  
**_Out in daylight my potential:_ **  
**_Bold, precise, experimental._ **

  
  
He started spending all of his time at work. Working, sleeping - didn't matter as long as he didn't have to return home to see his very worried brother's face and to sleep in a cold, lonely bed.

  
She was the only one he was this open with.

  
He told her when Alphys invited him to try and work a day in the lab and she assured him he would do well. She took time out of her day to come and encourage him in person and, who knows, maybe because of that he didn't chicken out and found his passion for science again. And he told her when he got the job -  she was so happy with him that he felt genuinely proud of himself.

  
He showed her when he was happy, when he was sad, when he was angry or nostalgic, when he felt confident or vulnerable. He confided in her like in no other, in an intimate manner he didn't have even with his beloved younger brother.  
She listened to him, kept his secrets, trusted him with hers, she encouraged him. He started not only showing more enthusiasm in the research the higher-ups wanted him to work on, but also making experiments to prove his own theories.

  
Sure, he still made puns and was lazy as hell at home and basically every chance he got, but no one had expected Sans, Sans the lazyboned skeleton to be so engaged in his work.

  
No one besides her.

  
Because of that, when he was at work he caught himself reaching out to his phone hundreds, thousands of times over the months.  
Then, Alphys came to his lab, crying.

  
_She_ was dead.

  
  
**_Who am I now in this world without her?_ **  
**_Petty and dull with the nerve to doubt her._ **

  
  
Two years have passed after the car accident.  
Here he was, standing on the roof, staring at the windows of the apartment where she and her...now widower lived together. The lights came on and Sean Reno went by the window.

  
This was the man who she chose. This human man who gave her the perfect life by normal human standards.

  
Would she have been alive if she stayed with Sans? If he dared and tried to get her back at least once, would she have come back to him? Could they have been happy?

  
  
**_What does it matter? It's already done._ **  
**_Now I've got to be there for her son._ **

  
  
Sean walked by the window again, a sleepy little boy in his arms.

  
The lawyer liked when there were plans and rules for every situation, so she, despite being young and healthy, wrote a will. In it, she stated that, in the event of her death, she wanted her son not to lose touch with her monster friends. To learn from a young age how wonderful monsters were.

  
Toriel became Godmother and Papyrus and Sans were named as caretakers if she wasn't available to take care of the boy in Sean's absence.

  
So whenever Sean had an important business trip, Sans had to take care of the boy. And there were many trips and many times when Y/n's family couldn't come over and Toriel was too busy with her students.

  
Why would she do that to Sans? Did she know that he could never hurt her flesh and blood?

  
But this was agony. Sans didn't hate the kid, but it was _excruciating_ \- he had her hair, her eyes, even her eyebrows. Sure, he was tall for a toddler, he was going to take after his...after Sean in built, but those were _her_ eyes looking up at Sans, _her_ hair shining in the light coming from the nursery's window.

  
He still loved her and this was the most exquisite form of torture, yet Sans couldn't refuse. It was her and-

  
No, it was just _her_ son.  
It was her _son_. She was _married_ , she _loved_ someone else for a long time before her death.  
  
  
_**It's over. Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it over?**_

  
She loved Sean. She loved Sean, she looked at him with those e/c eyes and told him in that soft, loving voice that she loved him. And then she died. Even before her death, she wasn't his.

  
  
_**It's over, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it over?** _

  
  
The glimmer in her eyes, the shine of her hair, the sound of her laughter. Her soft touch, her loving words, her affectionate gaze. None of it was his.

  
  
_**You won and she chose you.** _  
_**And she loved you and she's gone.** _

  
  
It was all Sean's, until the day she died.  
Sans had only memories. Memories of when she laughed at his jokes until tears appeared in her eyes, memories of him and her reading Papyrus bedtime stories, sharing glances and smiles.

  
  
_**It's over, isn't it?** _  
_**Why can't I move on?** _

  
  
Memories of them sitting on the beach, watching the meteor shower, him embracing her under the blankets and her resting her head on his clavicle. Memories of her saying to him that she was also in love with him and of that loving look in her beautiful e/c eyes. Those memories were so vivid as if all that happened just yesterday and it **burned** his soul.

  
He thought he had lost her when she left him. But what if he really lost her when she died? Did he, in his pain and apathy, throw out his second chance when he didn't try and get her back at least once? Was _he_ responsible for her death?

  
  
**_It's over, isn't it?_ **

  
  
She was dead.

  
_DEAD._

  
He would _never_ see her again.

  
  
**_Why can't I move on?..._ **

  
  
He chuckled, a hollow, broken sound.

  
His left eye glowed cyan. A glowing broken bone appeared in front of him, the sharp end of it pointing at his soul.

  
He considered.

  
His smile widened.

  
  
  
"Sans?"  
He froze. Was he finally going crazy?

  
"Sans, please..."  
It was her voice. He would remember it until the day he crumbled to dust.

  
"Y/n?" he whispered and, immediately, realized something.

  
Her voice and his, they sounded different from all other sounds.

  
They were **real.**

 

  
  
His eyes snapped open.

 

  
  
There she was. She was laying next to him, sleepy and worried. She reached out and gently touched his cheekbone.

  
"Sans, are you o-"  
He hugged her so tightly as if their lives depended on it and nuzzled into her neck with his face, inhaling her familiar scent and feeling the warmth of her skin on his facial bones. She hugged him in return, making him sigh in relief.

  
"d-don't worry, Y/n, i-i'm gonna be fine in a sec, just, ugh-"  
"Shh. It's okay, Sans. I'm in love with you, it's natural that I worry," she said in a loving voice, making his breath hitch. "I'm with you. Let's just stay like this."  
Y/n caressed the back of his skull and cervical vertebrae, making him lightly shudder from pleasure and relax. He nodded slowly, nuzzling into her neck some more and they stayed in silence for a while.  
  
"Y/n?" Sans quietly called.  
"Yes?"  
"i had a dream about you leaving me for...a more normal human life. and then dying."

  
  
He never told her about what his nightmares were about before. It was time to start changing that.

  
  
"Well I was an idiot, then," she lightly kissed him on the skull and hugged him tighter.

  
Sans could feel her heartbeat through their thin shirts. He leaned lower and, noticing that, she moved a bit and lightly pressed his skull to her chest. Her heartbeat made his soul swell with happiness - it proved she was alive, healthy. That they were so very close and that she let him be this close.

  
Her voice and her heartbeat calmed him like nothing else in his life, he felt himself relaxing and closed his eye sockets to concentrate on them.

  
"I'm alive, see," he could hear by her voice that she was smiling that wonderful warm smile of hers. "And my heart is beating like this for _you_ , Sans. Everything about you, every monster trait, every bone is dear to me."  
He took a deep breath and exhaled with relief, his eye sockets still closed, a blue hue coloring his cheekbones.  
"you're perfect, love," he said and inhaled in wonder as he heard her heartbeat quicken.

 

Because of him, because of what he said?

  
  
"you have no idea how precious you are to me, Y/n."

  
There it was again! Sans felt like his soul was gonna burst from joy.

  
Y/n, meanwhile, chuckled bashfully.  
"Let's not make this into a contest, you're also very important to me, verte _bae_."  
  
It was his turn to feel his soul pulsing - and in a good, happy way - in his ribcage. He chuckled sincerely and traced her spine with his hand.

  
"you mind if we stay like this for a while longer? bones not poking you too uncomfortably?"  
"Sans, I'll honestly cry if you don't," she cooed and kissed his skull again. "I've never been this comfortable in my life."  
"relieved to hear that, _tibia_ honest. really didn't want to move away," he answered sleepily, being lulled by her gentle voice and her heartbeat.  
"There's the pun," she said contently and caressed his skull.

  
Her soft touch was the last thing he remembered before falling asleep.

 

 

 

  
  
**Papyrus' POV**

  
  
It was noon!

  
He opened the door, ready to wake his brother and his favorite author.

  
What he ended up doing was holding his jawbone from falling off.

  
They were sleeping alright, but it was so, so...  
Papyrus blushed bright orange. Probably this was a good time to make a rule to start knocking on doors to rooms where his brother and Y/n were sleeping.  
Otherwise, he risked to ruin a moment like this one before him.

  
Such an adorable sight. The tall skeleton's soul swelled.

  
And his brother looked so peaceful, so happy.  
Y/n, too, but Sans was looking very different from how he normally looked while sleeping.

  
Papyrus wiped a tear from his eye socket and closed the door as quietly as he could.

  
Okay, they had won, he'd come by a bit later and just knock until they woke up.

  
Until then, he had so_many_emotions. But he shouldn't make noise.

  
A minute later, Papyrus was in the forest, squealing and dialing Undyne's number. The monster girlfriends had been right after all, now there was no doubt about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was that. This was a quick chapter I wrote and edited in 2-3 hours, but I hope you liked it.
> 
> I swear the next chapters will feature a happier Sans, this just was a real difficult time for the poor skele. Now that Reader's with him and he knows about her feelings toward him there'll finally be less anxiety.
> 
> Still, some things will still need to be discussed between the two.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, I have a question!  
> ________________Question time!_________________
> 
> Did you ever have those scenario-type kinds of dreams, where you just _know_ things about things?
> 
> My recent one of the sort was about me being a maid of honor at a wedding of a girl I don't even know in real life. Probably just saw her somewhere in the grocery store or at work or something. But in the dream, I _knew_ she was my dear friend, I even "remembered" her being my classmate, so I stressed out about every single little thing, trying to make her wedding day perfect XD
> 
> So do you have those kinds of dreams? Or dreams where you're put in a very detailed scenario?


	9. The Getaway. Part 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Reader(and Papyrus) continue spending time near the sea. The two lovebirds get accustomed to being a couple. Papyrus continues being a cutie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about making people sad with the last chapter, I was sad while I wrote it too. Hopefully this will lift your spirits!  
> Fluff, fluff, more fluff!

Y/n woke up to the sound of loud banging on her room's door.

  
"Y/N!! SANS!! I DO NOT WISH TO INTRUDE BUT IT IS SO VERY PAST NOON PLEASE WAKE UP!!! SANS, YOU LAZYBONES, YOU ALREADY INFLUENCE Y/N TO BE AS LAZY AS YOU!!"

  
"I'm perfectly able to be overly lazy on my own, honey," Y/n tried to answer as coherently as possible, putting a bit of effort to make her voice louder, but still not opening her eyes,"I'll do my best to make us both wake up and get out of bed!"

  
"SPLENDID, DIDN'T EXPECT ANY LESS OF YOU!!!" Papyrus sounded pleased, "I'VE ALREADY MADE SOME BREAKFAST!! I'LL BE WAITING IN THE KITCHEN THEN!"

  
Aaand he was already running down, and Y/n was glad the stairs were made of concrete and only covered with wood, otherwise there would be a danger that Papyrus' stomping would have destroyed the old staircase.  
Y/n yawned and dropped her head back on the pillow. It was just so tempting to fall asleep again, with the blankets keeping all the warmth in and with Sans laying so comfortably on her.

  
Wait a second.

  
Y/n  slowly opened her eyes and looked down.  
While they slept, Y/n turned to lay on her back, so now Sans was sleeping with his skull on her chest and one arm and one leg draped over her. Y/n smiled adoringly, she loved seeing Sans so relaxed and feeling their bodies so close together.

His bones weren't cold at all, they were normally a bit warmer than room temperature, but right now, being under the covers and sharing body warmth with her, they were even warmer. They were smooth and weighed more than she imagined, but Sans had thicker bones than her or even Papyrus, so that was to be expected.  
She took the time to look at the stout skeleton, at the smallest details of his skull. Sans' eye sockets were still closed, the expression of his face remained calm, his everpresent grin very relaxed. He was someone who Y/n most certainly found both adorable and irresistibly attractive at the same time.

  
She was talking to Papyrus a moment ago, didn't that wake him? Was he pretending to be asleep? Or was he really sleeping?

  
As Y/n thought about how to gently wake the skeleton, she instinctively tightened her embrace and ran her hand over his skull, her fingertips massaging the bone gently.

   
_"Huh, well, this works,"_ she thought with a smile and rubbed Sans' skull some more, then, when he stirred a bit, placed a light kiss on his forehead.  
"Wakey wakey," she cooed softly, "Good morning, Sans."  
"m-mmhr," Sans, his voice even lower than normal, made some adorable sleepy noises before opening his eye sockets, the white lights of his eyes focusing on Y/n's face. His smile immediately became that of sleepy happiness, his eye sockets still half-closed and a light cyan blush dusting his cheeks.

  
"hey, love."

  
Now it was her turn to blush lightly and smile a stupid, happy smile.  
"Hey, handsome."

  
They both chuckled softly and let a comfortable, happy silence linger for a while, just looking at each other.  
"You slept so tight, even Papyrus yelling at the door and me answering him couldn't wake you," Y/n smiled, moved her hand and gently caressed the skeleton's cheekbone. Sans leaned into the touch, closing his eye sockets and smiling contently.  
" _tibia_ completely honest with you, i haven't slept this good in years," he smirked, "well, excluding that whole nightmare part. But before and after that, like a babybones."

  
He opened his eye sockets, looking at her lovingly, then reached out and lazily curled one of Y/n's h/c locks onto his finger, "...and i never fell asleep after a nightmare as easily and quickly as today, ever. only you can do that."

  
Y/n smiled warmly, giving Sans a look of endearment.  
"I'm glad if I can do that for you, Sans. I'm happy when you're able to have a good night's - and morning's - sleep. Sleep deprivation isn't _humerus._ "  
"heh," the skeleton sighed contently and nodded. He let Y/n's lock of hair fall from his bony finger, instead placing his hand on her cheek.

  
"hey," he said softly, "i want to ask you something, it's been kinda buggin' me lately."  
"Yeah, sure," she answered, giving him a loving smile, "What is it?"  
"i, ugh," he sighed and looked into her e/c eyes, "you and that lawyer guy, Sean. was there or is there anything...you know."  
Sans shrugged.

  
Y/n blinked. Then blinked again.

  
"Oh, you thought..." she looked at Sans, surprise clearly evident in her eyes, "Sans, was your nightmare about me choosing him over you?"  
The stout skeleton looked like he was somewhere between embarrassed and sad, but tried to hide it behind a smile.  
"yeah," he shrugged, "well, you know, you're kind and beautiful, and smart, and funny, and he's the type human movies like to cast in the role of a perfect guy - tall, smartly-dressed and handsome...so, yeah."

  
Sans fell silent and  Y/n could notice how strained his smile looked now. She caressed his cheekbone lovingly and then turned her head, placing a gentle kiss on each of the metacarpals of Sans' hand, making him lightly flinch and look at her equal parts shocked and loving.

  
"Y/n, you don't have to do that."  
"I want to. I love your hands," she placed one last kiss on his hand and turned her head to look back at him, to take in his shocked expression and give him a warm smile."I'm in love with _you_ , Sans. _You're_ handsome. You're wonderful, funny, caring and so much more than I deserve."  
"don't say that-" he tried to argue, but she shook her head.

  
"I want to be with you, Sans. I still can't believe I was lucky enough to have you like me back, I've never felt as happy as I do when you're near," she smiled, blushing slightly, but then looked at him with seriousness. "Sean and I are friends, I guess. Maybe good acquaintances. We meet once or twice a year on the average, usually somewhere our mutual friends are. We never even met outside of that, and neither of us even brought up the topic of meeting privately."

  
"oh," Sans sighed, relief evident in his tone. Y/n smiled reassuringly.  
"Sans, me and Sean have known each other for more than 5 years and the most I consider him is someone who's a friendly face and who I can count on to be at a party and not be drunk. And I consider _you_ to be a very attractive young skeleton who makes me blush and stutter and generally act like a flustered idiot."

  
She smiled, her sudden burst of confidence fading and bashfulness taking it's place, coloring her cheeks a light rosy color. Sans, too, was sporting a blue hue on his cheekbones.

  
"well geez, Y/n. i, heh...you say such sweet things, i could get a toothache any minute now," he took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes and they both chuckled, the tension suddenly gone.  
He looked over her face, then turned his head and pressed his teeth to her hand in a skeleton kiss. Y/n didn't know if monsters had the ability to put some magic that carried through their intentions or emotions into their touch, or if she felt it this much because it was Sans, but her hand flinched and her heart swelled from how intimate the gesture was.

  
"not so calm when you're the one getting the kisses, huh?" he gave her a sly, yet adoring smile and she couldn't hold herself back from smiling too.

  
"look at you, so smug when you're the one doing the kissing."

  
They both laughed softly and looked each other over adoringly. Sans sighed dreamily, propped himself on his elbows and started slowly leaning closer, not taking his half-closed eye sockets off Y/n. Taking the hint, she leaned towards him and touched his teeth with her lips gently.  
Both closed their eyes, relishing the kiss and the emotions it evoked.

  
Y/n's arms traveled up and around Sans' cervical spine, pulling him in closer while the skeleton balanced all his weight on one arm, wrapping the other one around the girl's torso to hug her tightly. The two let out a delighted sigh as their bodies pressed together closer and continued indulging in kisses that became more heated by the moment. Between Sans' ribs pressed against her chest, his hand stroking her back and his breath on her lips, Y/n felt like she was getting more and more drunk by the second, drunk on this exhilarating feeling of knowing, of feeling Sans' affection, of being able to return it.

  
Sans pulled back slightly and they both took a breath, opening their eyes and sharing an intimate, meaningful silence, white glowing lights looking into e/c orbs. Y/n left one arm around the skeleton's cervical spine, the other one she raised higher and caressed the back of his skull. Sans closed his eye sockets and let out a sound that was somewhere between a humm and a purr, and it made a giant wave of endearment wash over Y/n.

  
"Oh Sans," she cooed softly, giving him a warm smile. How could he ever think she would leave this - _him_ \- for anything?  
"Y/n..." he murmured, opening his eye sockets and looking at her with an expression that made her acutely aware of how strongly yet unsteadily her heart was beating.  
  
A door somewhere on the first floor opened and Papyrus' voice boomed loud enough that Y/n was almost sure it could be heard on the beach.

  
"SAAANS!!! Y/N!!! YOU TWO SLEEPYHEADS! WAKE UP, I REHEATED THE BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI THREE TIMES ALREADY!! COME OOON!"

  
It sounded so much like whining at the end that they both started snickering, then laughing, Sans resting his frontal bone on Y/n's forehead.

  
"HUMPH!! AT LEAST I CAN HEAR THAT YOU ARE NOT SLEEPING! AS BIG A RELIEF AS THAT IS, PLEASE GET OUT OF BED, YOU'RE BEING POSITIVELY _BONE_ IDLE!!"

  
Aaand just as the laughter seemed to subside it was back and even louder now, Sans hiding his face in the crook of Y/n's neck and Y/n holding onto the skeleton for dear life.

  
"FORGET WHAT I SAID AND JUST COME DOWN ALREADY!!! COME ON, GUYS, I'M SERIOUS!!!"

 

  
  
  
***

 

  
  
  
  
"YOU TWO REALIZE THAT YOU SLEPT 'TILL 2PM, RIGHT?"

  
Sans and Y/n were sitting at the table, stupid grins plastered on their faces.  
"Sorry, Dadyrus," Y/n giggled and and Sans' grin widened even more, his eye sockets creasing up. The stout skeleton was really trying not to laugh.

  
"Y/N," Papyrus tried to pout but his voice betrayed his good mood.

  
Y/n sighed and took a sip of her tea.  
"By the way, do you know why you shouldn't eat cookies in bed?"  
"WHY?" Papyrus blinked his eye sockets innocently. Y/n debated internally if she should answer something normal, but a second later gave the younger skeleton a sly grin.  
"Because then you'll get real _crummy_ sleep."

  
Sans burst out laughing, Papyrus shrieked and flailed his arms.

  
Y/n never felt so content in her life.  
  
  


 

  
***

 

  
  
Sans' POV

  
  
  
It was a wonderfully sunny day and the sky was the purest azure color it could be. The wind, however, picked up about an hour after Sans and Y/n woke up. Now the human girl and two monsters were at the beach, looking over the raging waters of the sea.

  
The three and a half foot high waves crashed, water spilled over the beach, bringing seaweed, small branches and seashells with it to the shore and then pulling some of it back. Sunlight made the waves glisten and foam seem as white as if clouds fell from the sky and were now thrown among the waves.

  
"i, ugh, Y/n," Sans chuckled somewhat nervously, knowing that Papyrus - his baby brother, his pride and joy, the skeleton who was now staring at the sea wide-eye socketed and who wasn't too talented at swimming - was holding out by a thread not to jump into the water."maybe we should just look at the water, ya know, there might be currents and stuff..."

  
He looked at Y/n and forgot what arguments he had. The girl - now _his_ girl - was not looking at him, she was looking at the sea, and there was a fire, a passion in her eyes that made Sans shudder lightly. The wind was playing with her h/c hair, the sun making it shine beautifully. Stars, she was amazing.

  
Then, she looked at him. The sunlight made her pupils constrict, making the color of her e/c eyes even more bright and sparkling, and Sans couldn't look away. He blinked, then saw her smile more warmly and immediately understood why. He blinked again, making his cyan left eye return back to normal and gave Y/n a chuckle.

  
"i'm, ugh, it usually doesn't do that on it's own," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his skull, and she stepped closer to him, looking into his eyes adoringly.  
"Shame, I would like to see more of it, you know how much I-"

  
"THE GREAT PAPYRUS ACCEPTS THE SEA'S CHALLENGE!!!"

  
With that Papyrus sprinted off and just as Sans wanted to call out to his brother, he felt soft lips on his cheekbone.  
"I'll look after him," Y/n smiled encouragingly and was about to run off too, but Sans caught her by the hand, making her look at him just as his eye flared cyan. He - and his ego - never got tired of the look she gave him every time she got a glimpse of his magic or his glowing blue eye.

  
Next moment, they were right next to the water.

  
"and i'll look after you," he gave her a sly smile.

 

  
  
  
***

 

  
  
It was amazing.

  
  
It was fun and joyful and absolutely exhilarating.

  
The waves crashed into them, water went through the two of them, carried them with it, took them towards the shore, then to the right, then trying to pull them back deeper into the sea.

  
Papyrus and Y/n were so happy, Y/n showed the taller skeleton some tricks on how to catch a wave so that it would carry him the furthest or to always look back to the shore to see how far the current carried him from where he started. All that was accompanied by laughter and tumbling underwater and seaweed in Y/n's hair and all over the skeleton brothers' bodies.

  
Soon enough,they came up with the idea to use magic. Sans was hesitant at first, but it ended up being phenomenal, with Papyrus using his blue magic on Sans to make him  jump over waves or dragging him through water, Sans doing the same for his younger brother. Both of them took turns at using their magic on Y/n, who was beyond delighted, making happy shrieks and laughing wholeheartedly. It made Papyrus very proud of himself and Sans' soul swell with happiness.

  
They walked out of the water more then a hour later, tired and happy, clinging to each other and laughing.

 

  
  
  
***

 

 

  
  
They came back to the cabin and Y/n insisted that she'll make them some food, saying that her cherished guests should rest and have some quality bro-time.

  
So now the brothers were chilling on the terrace, both laying comfortably on a rocking sofa, legs intertwined. Papyrus was actively chatting with someone via his phone, Sans was just looking over the garden and the forest, ketchup bottle in hand.

  
When Papyrus laughed giddily, Sans looked at him with a lazy, content expression.

  
"wanna tell me what's so funny, bro?"

  
"AH? AH, YES! I WAS TELLING UNDYNE ABOUT OUR TRIAL BY WATER, AND SHE SAID IT WAS SUPER RAD AND CALLED ME COOL!!!"

  
The stout skeleton chuckled, he knew how much Undyne's praise meant to his brother.

  
"i _sea_."  
"YES, YES INDEE- SANS!!! AAARGH," Papyrus threw his head back as if he was rolling his eyes,then sighed dramatically. "HONESTLY. THAT REMINDS ME, BROTHER, I HAVE A SERIOUS TOPIC I WISH TO DISCUSS!"  
"oh yeah?" Sans raised a brow ridge, but listened closely.

  
"YES. SO, AS YOU AND Y/N ARE NOW A COUPLE, I WANTED TO ASK IF YOU REQUIRE MY TUTELAGE IN THE FINE ART OF DATING."

  
Sans couldn't remember when was the last time something his brother said made him blush, but he would definitely remember this particular time.

  
"i, ugh, nah, bro, i think we're fine," he laughed softly, hiding his slight embarrassment under a grin.  
Papyrus seemed to have bought it.  
"SANS, PLEASE DO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! LOVE IS SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT, YOU CAN'T BE LAZY HERE TOO, COME ON!" if Papyrus was standing Sans was sure he would have stomped his feet in frustration. The stout skeleton chuckled and looked his brother in the eye sockets.

  
"don't worry, Pap, i'm real serious about this."  
"GOOD! GOOD." Papyrus nodded approvingly."SO WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME? IT'S SOMEWHAT OFFENDING THAT HALF OF THE MONSTER COMMUNITY KNEW ALREADY."  
"...wha?"

  
What?

  
Papyrus looked at him in disbelief, narrowing his eye sockets.

  
"SAAANS," now he looked sad, like a puppy in the rain, "YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME, I'M NOT A BABYBONES ANYMORE! YOU KNOW THAT I'VE EVEN BEEN TO SOME DAT- E-KHEM, A DATE."

  
"Pap, bro," Sans shrugged, trying to sound relaxed, "we've become a couple, like, yesterday, not being _humerus_ here."

  
Papyrus' face was that of honest surprise, his brother looked adorable, yet Sans was now very curious.  
"so...why did everyone think we were..?"  
"OH. WELL," Papyrus cleared the throat he didn't have before continuing, "I WAS TOLD BY UNDYNE, WHO WAS TOLD BY ALPHYS, WHO WAS TOLD BY CATTY, WHO HEARD FROM BRATTY, WHOSE FRIEND SAW AND HEARD YOU TWO FLIRTING AT GRILLBY'S THAT ONE DAY WHEN WE HAD THE SLEEPOVER."

  
If Sans' eye sockets could become even wider his skull probably would have cracked.

  
"u-uugh, bro," he nervously chuckled, "we were just trading puns."

  
"OH."

  
"Oh."

  
The two skeletons turned their heads to the door. Y/n was standing there, her apron in her hand.

  
"eeh," Sans rubbed the back of his cervical spine and offered her a sheepish grin.  
"UMMM," the Great Papyrus was at loss for words, looking away, suddenly embarrassed.

  
"So the monsters at the bar..." Y/n began slowly, "they thought..."  
Papyrus nodded. Sans shrugged. Well, this was-

  
"This is hilarious!" Y/n burst out laughing. Sans and Papyrus joined her immediately, all of the tension gone just like that.

  
"Oh god, but at least there's no need to make an announcement, everyone knew before even we knew," Y/n took a deep breath and started laughing again.  
"well, can't blame 'em for listening in " Sans managed between fits of laughter, "those pick up lines were really _punny_."

  
"SAAAANS," Papyrus howled and the three started laughing even harder.

  
"They were absolutely _sansational._ "

  
"Y/N!!!"

 

 

  
  
***

 

 

  
  
The three had dinner, then went for a walk.  
Y/n asked a ton a questions and learned a (skele)ton of new things.

  
  
When did the skeleton brothers learn to swim?

  
Apparently, king Asgore thought that it is a requirement for all monsters(who weren't severely affected by water, like Grillby) to know how to swim to the best of their abilities - he said that most of the planet was covered in water, actually, so when the monsters were free again, they should already be adequate in the art of swimming.  
Y/n found this method of both teaching the monsters a valuable skill and keeping up their hopes to be very impressive. Sans chuckled and said that she could sometime tell that to King Fluffybuns personally.

  
  
Why King Fluffybuns?

  
They told her.  
She couldn't stop giggling for a while.

 

  
Why did Papyrus choose to work at a gym?

  
The tall skeleton explained that he still had much to learn about human recipes before becoming as great a Spaghettore Overground as he was in the Underground, so until then, Alphys and Undyne convinced him that being a trainer at a gym was a good way to both get regular exercise and use his enthusiasm to benefit people. Papyrus tried it and loved the job instantly. Undyne worked there too, so Papyrus always had a friend nearby.  
Sans added that he tried to make Papyrus claim the nearest Pokemon GO gym and use a Cu _bone_ to do so. Papyrus was not impressed. Y/n, however, rewarded that idea with a wide grin that made Sans proud of himself.

  
  
How was Frisk doing after they freed everyone?

  
The kid was fine, Sans said, they were attending Toriel's school and teaching their classmates about the importance of kindness and mercy. And determination, of course. Being the ambassador alongside Papyrus, the two took turns and took care of things when the other was busy with school or work.  
Sans and Y/n didn't pass the chance to praise the younger skeleton on his title and Papyrus couldn't be happier.

  
  
What were the things they liked most Overground?

  
Absolutely every minute, good and bad, was a blessing, Papyrus said and started listing all the things he liked while Sans, remaining quiet, gave her an affectionate look and pointed a bony finger in her direction.

  
  
Why spaghetti?

  
HOW COULD IT NOT BE SPAGHETTI?

  
  
The questions ranged from informative to silly and the trio returned to the cabin only after watching the sun set behind the still raging waters.

 

  
  
  
***

 

  
  
  
Sans and Y/n had read Papyrus his bedtime story, the older skeleton cherishing every moment of this quiet time, when the love and warmth and endearment in the air were practically tangible. The girl and the skeleton then teleported straight to her room.

  
"i kinda assumed there," Sans quickly realized something, still not letting go of Y/n's waist,"i can sleep together with Pap if you want to sleep by yourself."  
" _Sans,_ " the girl put enough emotion into pronouncing his name that he immediately knew that he'd assumed right and his soul made a triumphant thump.

  
Her hands, previously resting on his ribs, now traveled to his cervical spine and he quickly pulled her in closer, tilting his skull and pressing his teeth to her lips. She kissed back without hesitation, making him feel all warm and fuzzy  on the inside.

  
"so," he gave her an adoring look and a content grin as soon as he pulled back."wanna change into pj's, get some soda and ketchup and watch a movie?"  
"I'll turn my laptop on while you get the drinks?" she smiled and he couldn't help but kiss her again - it was becoming addictive and fast. Y/n had to be of the same opinion, as she was the one to kiss him after that, refusing to let the stout skeleton out of her embrace - not that he was any more willing to let her out of his arms.

  
After a while, they finally let go of each other and Sans didn't remember ever getting undressed and dressed so quicky. He was back in her room in 4 minutes, bottles of soda and ketchup in his hands. Y/n was already in her PJ's and under the covers, inviting him to join her already.

  
Sans had sat, layed and slept beside Y/n before, but now it was different. Now he could say things and touch her, it was amazing. He was under the covers so quick he wasn't sure if he teleported, the rush of _"Stars, this is real"_ still strong in his soul.

  
He looked at her adoringly, trying to stay at least a bit cool, and put his arm around her, hugging her shoulders. He raised a brow ridge as if asking if this was okay and she gave him a kiss on the cheekbone, which, in his book, was a definitive yes. She rested her head on his clavicle and that made it possible for him to rest his skull against the top of her head, to feel her smell, to nuzzle into the softness of her hair.

  
They put on some movie, but in the end it was irrelevant what they chose to watch because they spent most of it snuggling against each other, kissing and murmuring sweet nothings to each other like the two lovestruck souls they were. Harboring feelings for one another for some time, the two just couldn't get enough of the fact that they could now act on those feelings. 

  
Slowly, their murmurs became softer as the two started to fall asleep.

  
"you comfortable?" Sans managed to ask for the fifth time that evening, his voice slurring a bit from being so sleepy.  
"Yeees," Y/n yawned and lightly kissed the exposed part of his clavicle, "Very."

  
Sans thought that maybe Y/n's hair made it a bit easier for her, providing at least some cushioning. He wasn't sure how he could be comfortable for her. He did know, however, that he himself was perfectly comfortable, her head resting on his clavicle and her hand laying on his sternum like they belonged there. They did, Sans thought.

  
"Goodnight, handsome," Y/n sighed contently as Sans pressed his teeth to the top of her head.

  
"Goodnight, love."  
  
  
  
  
  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed!  
> There will be a Part 3 ;)


	10. The Getaway. Part 3.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio spend their last day near the sea. Reader remembers about the thing she bought. Alphys and Undyne are being schemers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I always say how thankful I am for the hits, kudos and comments, but I really can't stay quiet when I'm just bursting with gratitude. Really, guys, thank you to all of you who reads this, I'm just so happy that I can raise your mood, even if just for the short while that you read a chapter <3
> 
> I really want to show my appreciation and I have this little idea...if you're interested you can look at the notes at the end of this chapter;)
> 
> ALSO.  
> This gif.  
> http://66.media.tumblr.com/e4d9fd61e50c03d08fea243b9f8a054f/tumblr_oazsjuU7Ip1vo1kjmo1_1280.gif  
> This gif, oh my god, it insipes me more than anything else. It's just so perfect I just aah *cries* Sans why aren't you real I hate you and I love you, you damn bonehead X'D  
> This gif and many other cool gifs are here http://bunny-king.tumblr.com/tagged/gif - go give the artist some love, they deserve ALL of it, their work is amazing <3 (careful, there can be some creepy/nsfw things there, but those thigs are also done so very skillfully)
> 
> And now, let's finally begin the chapter!

Y/n awoke to the feeling of the sun shining onto her face and the sound of birds chirping. She could very faintly smell the flowers that bloomed in the garden.  
  
On days like these, kids like her...  
  
Should open their eyes and look at their sleeping skeleton-boyfriend.

  
  
The corners of her lips quirked slightly upward as that thought crossed her mind. Sans was her boyfriend now. She still couldn't believe it.  
  
Y/n took a deep breath to chase the sleepiness away at least a bit and slowly opened her eyes. Immediately, her heart swelled from the sight before her.

  
  
Sans was sleeping next to her, laying on his side facing her. His eye sockets were closed, his features relaxed, the slightly sunken-in bone under his eye sockets a nice white color as the rest of his bones, indicating that the skeleton had a good night's sleep. His bony hand was right next to her and she wanted to touch it, to caress it, but opted not to in fear of disturbing Sans' peaceful slumber. Instead, she continued looking at the skeleton-monster, listening to his steady breath. He didn't even have lungs, she thought and almost chuckled - this skeleton was indeed full of wonders.  
  
Like his magic. His magic was something that fascinated Y/n so much, she couldn't get enough of it. It was such an essential part of Sans and she loved it when she could see him use it. His cyan blue flaming eye, the magical aura around him, the stuff he could do, all of it- amazing. The young author could sort through her mental dictionary seemingly forever, finding ways to describe how truly magnificent it was, but there was only one word that would describe it best.

  
  
_Sans_ ational.

  
  
Her lips formed into a wide smile as she mentally praised herself for the pun. She then remembered how the skeleton brothers used their magic on her yesterday. It was _an experience_. Y/n never felt anything like it. They made her soul blue and, suddenly, gravity became a very relative concept as she was lifted over the water, then lowered into the water, then dragged through it. It was fun and exhilarating and unforgettable, and Y/n felt a very powerful feeling of trust then, letting the brothers use their magic on her very soul. Though, as she understood it, there was an even more powerful variation of that magic, the one that literally called a human's soul forth out of their body. While intrigued by the concept, she was happy that her soul stayed where it was.  
  
She did wonder how her soul looked like. She also wondered if Sans wanted to see it. Sans was the only one she would want to show something as sacred as her soul, anyway. Y/n then thought about how his soul looked like. She knew monster souls looked like human souls, but inverted and white. Sometimes, it also had other small, secondary characteristics that depended on the monster's nature and magic. Looking at Sans' sleeping face with endearment, Y/n couldn't help but breathe a soft, lovesick sigh. Whatever his soul looked like, it would look like Sans' very essence, so she already knew it would be the most beautiful thing she would ever see in her life.  
  
  
Suddenly, Sans stirred a bit and his breathing changed. His eyes slowly opened to sleepily look at her, making butterflies dance wildly in her stomach.  
  
  
"g'mornin', love," he said in a gravelly, deep voice as his smile widened to a sleepy, yet happy one and his half-lidded eyes looked at her with adoration. Y/n could feel her cheeks get a bit warmer as her heart seemed to grow three sizes.  
  
"Good morning, handsome," she returned his smile with her warm one, finally reaching out and touching his hand gently. Sans parted his phalanges to let her fingers slip between them and then moved them closer together again, gripping her hand lovingly and squeezing it a bit. She gave a squeeze in return, lovingly looking into the bright white lights of his eyes - their steady, calm glow letting her know that Sans was feeling at ease and thus making her feel so very happy.  
  
   
  
"awake for long?" he asked, blinking slowly, sleep not yet completely leaving him. He looked so cute, Y/n thought.  
  
"No, not really," she said softly, lovingly looking over his features, right now so beautifully lit by sunshine. God, she was so helplessly in love and Sans being adorable wasn't making it any better.  
  
The stout skeleton chuckled softly, his deep voice like honey to her ears.  
  
  
"hope i haven't been _tolkien_ in my sleep," he said, his grin becoming sly.  
  
She giggled softly, remembering that they watched The Fellowship of the Ring last night. Sans' eye sockets slightly creased up at the sound of her giggling as his hand squeezed hers again.

  
  
  
"you know, i, ugh, really like you like this," he chuckled, then quickly added, "i mean i like you always, you're always beautiful, love, it's just.."  
  
He chuckled, closed his eye sockets for a moment, then opened them again, still keeping them half-lidded.  
  
"it's just that you look so nice just like this, sleepy and soft and all comfy in your pajamas...i, ugh, probably don't make much sense, huh?"

  
  
Y/n gave him a loving smile while feeling herself blush slightly. Leave it to Sans to compliment her for looking like a mess in the morning.  
  
"You do. I feel the same way about you," she said sincerely, "You're so very _ent_ dearing right now. You always are, but especially now."  
  
"heh," he smiled happily and she could see a light blue hue on his cheekbones.  
  
  
The lights of his eyes traveled from her face to their hands, then back to her face, meeting her gaze. Without a word, he leaned closer and she leaned to meet him halfway without hesitation. Meeting his teeth with her lips, Y/n felt a tingle up her spine - there was _definitely_ magic involved, she could feel Sans' affection everytime they kissed. Everytime it was like a quiet, non-verbal, yet very clear confession of his feelings, traveling from where his teeth met her lips right to her very soul, making her heart beat faster.

  
Y/n could then understand why most monsters were so careful and proper with relationships - it was always a very spiritual thing, it seems. A thing you can't fake, as you could immediately feel the sincerity of your partner's affection. She wondered if Sans could feel hers too, she hoped he could.

  
  
The next she knew she was already  pressed against Sans, her arms around his cervical spine and his bony ones around her waist, holding her close while his breath ghosted over her lips. Next moment they were already kissing again, with Sans running his skeletal hands over her back and Y/n caressing his cervical vertebrae and skull. A shaky, pleasured sigh escaped the skeleton and Y/n felt her heart flutter and a warmth starting to pool in her lower belly. She kissed Sans again and again, continuing her ministrations, making him sigh into the kiss and make it even more heated.  
  
Suddenly, she felt something warm and moist touch her lips and without a second thought she parted her lips, letting Sans do whatever he was doing. The strange tongue-like thing darted into her mouth, deepening the kiss, making them both gasp in pleasure and making her let out a quiet, surprised moan before she let her tongue dance with the intruder, feel it. It was wide and thick, bigger than her tongue and had a gelatinous, almost rubbery texture while being soft and moist and wonderful.  
  
Only when she began seeing stars behind he closed eyelids they pulled apart, both breathing heavily. She forced herself to open her eyes and-

  
  
Oh Sans looked _so good_.

  
His right eye socket was closed, his left one was however open and half-lidded, showing her a brightly glowing cyan blue eye. His mouth was slightly open, helping him catch his breath and revealing something blue and glowing inside his mouth.  
  
"You...have a tongue?" she said breathily, adoration evident in her eyes and voice. He chuckled.  
  
"yep, can create one with magic."  
  
"Does it...feel good when we kiss?" she asked, pressing into him again, touching his frontal bone with her forehead and starting to leave kissed on his cheekbones and mandible.  
  
"a-h, yeah, it does," he answered while gripping her tighter and running his fingers through her hair, lightly scraping his bony fingers against her scalp."stars, Y/n..."

 

 

"SANS, Y/N!!!"

  
  
  
Both flinched and looked to the door in alarm. Papyrus' fast footsteps could be heard as he ran up the stairs and the two lovers quickly made themselves look more presentable.

  
  
By the time Papyrus burst through the door, Y/n was reading dog encyclopedia and Sans was sleeping on his stomach.

  
  
The taller skeleton looked at them, then seemed to remember something.  
  
"AH, WELL I'M GLAD THAT AT LEAST ONE OF YOU WOKE UP ALREADY. THOUGH I'M NOT SURPRISED THAT IT'S YOU, Y/N. EXCUSE ME FOR BARGING IN INTO YOUR LITTLE LOVEBIRDS NEST BUT IT'S 11 AM AND HIGH TIME TO WAKE UP....GOOD MORNING, Y/N, WHAT ARE YOU READING?"

  
  
Papyrus' curious look made Y/n giggle as she greeted him, then offered him the book when the younger skeleton approached.

  
  
"It's a dog encyclopedia, it has all the information on all of the breeds of dogs known to humans to the year of..." she quickly looked at the cover, "1999."  
  
"AH, I SEE. VERY EDUCATIONAL!" Papyrus praised as he carefully took the book to look it over. He then returned it to her and looked at his "sleeping" brother."SANS, WAKE UP! YOU LAZYBONES, Y/N HAS ALREADY REFRESHED HER MEMORY ON DOG BREEDS WHILE YOU WERE SNOOZING!"  
  
Sans opened his eyes and rolled onto his back, looking at his brother with a smile.  
  
"g'mornin', Pap."  
  
"GOOD MORNING, BROTHER!" Papyrus suddenly straightened his back and rested his hands on his hips, "NOW THAT YOU ARE  BOTH AWAKE, PLEASE COME TO THE KITCHEN, THERE'S BREAKFAST TO BE EATEN!"

  
  
"Papyrus, honey," Y/n smiled somewhat bashfully, "I'm your host, I should make breakfast for you, not the other way around."  
  
"NONSENSE!" the tall skeleton flashed her an excited smile, "YOU LET US STAY HERE, YOU COOK LUNCH AND DINNER! PREPARING MY WORLD-FAMOUS BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS THE LEAST I CAN DO! NOW COME DOWN TO THE KITCHEN!"  
  
"you, eh, think you could make something sweet too? i kinda have a craving for _woofles_."

  
  
The door slammed shut and Papyrus was gone, his screams heard clearly as he stormed towards the kitchen.

  
  
  
There was silence for a moment, both Sans and Y/n looking at each other, smiling like idiots.  
  
"dog encyclopedia? really?"  
  
"Hey, at least you got to make that cool pun. I _digged_ it."  
  
  
Sans started chuckling, but it rapidly turned into a loud laugh as he thought over the whole situation. Y/n couldn't help but join in.

  
  
  
***

 

  
  
"What?"  
  
"say what, bro?"  
  
  
The two of them sat at the table, still wearing their PJ's and holding mugs of coffee their hands. Papyrus cleared his throat, his shoulders tensing a bit.  
  
"HMMM YES, WELL, ALPHYS SAID THAT IT IS NOT DANGEROUS AND THAT THE PROBLEM SHOULD BE RESOLVED BY TUESDAY."

  
  
Sans and Y/n gave each other puzzled expressions. The whole thing was strange. Apparently, a computer virus brought all the technology at the lab Sans and Alphys were working at out of commission. Alphys, however, was sure that it would be handled by Tuesday, but until then there was no reason for most of the employees to come to work. It left Sans with an extra day off, but there was something not quite right with this whole scenario.

  
  
"ok, Pap, but why do you need to go to the city right now?" Sans realized a brow ridge, looking at his brother in confusion.  
  
"AH WELL, YOU SEE, UNDYNE REQUESTED THAT I COME TO WORK TODAY, SHE CLEARED HER SCHEDULE AND WANTS TO HAVE A _SUPER-SPECIAL-AWESOME_ TRAINING SESSION WITH ME!"  
  
"Oh, well," Y/n looked at Sans, who just shrugged."Let us get ready then and we'll-"

  
  
"NONONO!" Papyrus started waving his hands in panic, "YOU TWO CAN STILL ENJOY YOUR TWO DAYS HERE, AS, YOU KNOW, THIS TOTALLY UNPREDICTED SITUATION AROSE DUE TO A SERIES OF COINCIDENCES, LETTING YOU TWO PROPERLY SPEND TIME TOGETHER!"

  
  
Y/n looked at Papyrus, then at Sans, who shrugged again, but now with a lazy smile plastered on his face. The girl returned her attention to the younger skeleton, who seemed nervous, but determined to continue talking, a wide smile plastered on his face.

  
  
"AND Y/N, YOU NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT WORK, I ALREADY CALLED THAT KIND OWNER OF THE BOOKSTORE AND TOLD YOU YOU WERE SICK."  
  
"....You _what?_ " Y/n blinked in confusion.  
  
"I ALREADY CALLED THAT KIND OWNER OF THE BOOKSTORE AND TOLD YOU YOU WERE SICK," the skeleton repeated."DO NOT WORRY, I DID AN EXCELLENT JOB, I USED A DICTIONARY TO SOUND MORE BELIEVABLE! E-KHEM! SICK - SUFFERING FROM OR AFFECTED WITH A PHYSICAL ILLNESS; INCLINED OR LIKELY TO VOMIT. SHE TOLD ME SHE BELIEVED ME. SHE, AH...ALSO TOLD ME YOU DIDN'T HAVE A SHIFT ON MONDAY IN THE FIRST PLACE."

  
  
The tall skeleton looked away with a frown while Y/n was trying her best not to laugh hysterically, Sans was chuckling beside her, not making her situation any easier.

  
  
"I, ah, thanks anyway, Papyrus," she managed to say and the skeleton smiled proudly.  
  
"YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME, Y/N! WELL, I WILL BE OFF THEN!"  
  
With that, he quickly squeezed both Y/n and Sans in a hug and practically ran out the door.  
  
Listening to Papyrus' car speed off, Y/n looked at Sans, who was now resting his elbow on the table and looking at her in amusement.

  
  
"Your brother is a terrible liar."  
  
Sans smiled widely, his eye sockets creasing up.  
  
"I could see _right through him_ ," Y/n added with a big smile of her own and both of them chuckled.  
  
"yeah well, he was never good at it, _tibia_ honest," the stout skeleton said as he reached out and tucked a stray lock of h/c hair behind Y/n's ear. As he was pulling his hand away, she caught it gently and closed her fingers around it, making Sans smile somewhat bashfully, yet happily.

  
"So...your friends always sabotage lab equipment and construct elaborate plans?"  
  
Sans chuckled.  
  
"pretty much. there's always something _fishy_ going on when the two of them are involved."  
  
Y/n giggled and the skeleton leaned closer, placing a sweet kiss on her lips.

 

  
  
  
***

 

  
  
Sans' POV

 

  
  
He sat on the rocking couch, enjoying the sunlight that the terrace was bathed in. His thoughts were light and pleasant as he watched how beautifully the tops of the forest trees looked against the clear summer sky, green and blue bright and vibrant in the sunlight.  
  
He heard light footsteps coming his way and shifted his gaze, ready to entertain Y/n with a joke he remembered. Upon laying his eyes on her, however, his words got stuck in his nonexistent throat and his soul started thumping loudly inside his ribcage.

  
  
"....Too obvious?" his beautiful girlfriend smiled somewhat bashfully, straightening the long skirt of her dress. A long, cyan blue summer dress.

  
  
"uugh-h," he blinked, feeling his cheekbones heat up as he stared at her wide eyed."no, it's- you're perfect."  
  
She gave a soft chuckle, her cheeks becoming slightly more rosy.  
  
"Glad to hear."  
  
"when you, ugh, said 'obvious'," he tried to ask, swallowing nervously, instinctively leaning forward, "you meant...?"  
  
"That I bought it because, well, you. It's not _as_ vibrant and beautiful of a color that your magic has, but-ah!"

  
  
He was hugging her now, tightly and lovingly and feeling his soul swell to the point that it was almost painful. This girl. This beautiful, amazing girl. The emotions in him were so strong that he placed his arms a bit lower, then lifted her off her feet and spun her around.  
  
"Ah-hahah! I take it you like it," she laughed softly and hugged him back, placing a kiss on his frontal bone as he lowered her back onto her feet and kept his hands around her waist. He looked into her eyes, his left eye shining a bright cyan blue.  
  
"i love you," he breathed out, looking at her in adoration, in worship even. She held her breath, a deeply moved expression on her beautiful face, then exhaled with a happy, loving smile.  
  
"I love you too, Sans."

  
  
He closed the small space between them, kissing her passionately. She melted so deliciously into the kiss, returning it while her hands caressed his skull and the backs of his cervical vertebrae. Sans never felt so happy in his life.

  
  
As soon as the kiss ended, she gave him another one, this one more gentle, rubbing her thumbs over his temporal bones in circles, making Sans sigh into the kiss sweetly.  
  
She pulled away and he opened his eyes, looking at her, mesmerized, still in daze from their kissing, from her affection that he felt through those kisses and from the emotions they created in his soul. She was looking at him with the same expression he imagined he wore himself, but of course it looked so much cuter on her.  
  
They both looked at eachother, e/c eyes locked with white eyelights, adoring smiles on both their faces.

  
  
"you make me so happy, love," he said softly, gently pressing his frontal bone to her forehead and the feeling on her immediately returning the pressure made his soul jump happily in his ribcage.  
  
"I'm so glad to know that," she cooed and he instinctively pressed her a bit more tightly against himself, "You do the same for me, handsome."  
  
"heh, you're really going to go with that pet name, huh?" he asked, chuckling bashfully. Never in his life would he ever think that he would be called that unironically and with so much affection.  
  
"Yep," she smiled and slightly nodded, rubbing their foreheads together."You're the most handsome among all monsters and men."

  
  
"oh geez, ya really like makin' me blush, huh?" he mumbled, a blue hue spreading across his cheekbones but his absolutely beaming smile clearly showed how much those words meant to him.  
  
"You're so cute when you're blushing, I can't stop myself," she lowered her gaze to his cheekbones, then his teeth, then back to his eye sockets before pecking him on the lips lightly, making him chuckle softly.  
  
Sans lifted his head, prompting her to do the same.  
  
"you really weren't joking when you told me you held back on the compliments before," he said with a content smile.  
  
"Want me to stop?" she offered and panic flashed in his eyes before she smiled wider and shook her head, "Can't do. I want _tibia_ honest with you."

  
  
Warmth spread all over his soul at those words as he chuckled at her pun. They had been honest with each other, always since they met. 99% of the time it was either the truth or nothing at all, whether it was about his nightmares, her fits of social anxiety or his reasons for depression. Practically the only time they have been dishonest, it was when they kept their feelings for each other a secret...from each other.  
  
Sans realized that this would be a good time to start telling Y/n about the things that he still kept from her. It would be painful, but for the very first time in who knows how long he finally wanted to tell this impossible, horrible tale to someone who was willing to listen and understand him. And he knew Y/n would.  
  
The stout skeleton hesitantly took his hands off Y/n's waist, prompting her to slowly let go of his skull. He did, however, almost instantly take her hand in his, feeling a tingle in his soul when she squeezed his hand gently. Like all lovesick couples, it seems it was torturous for the two of them not to have at least some physical contact, some proof that the one you love is right here, by your side.

  
"so..ugh," Sans sighed, gathering his courage,"i wanna tell you some things, not so _humerus_ things, heh. it's been a long time comin', you've been patient with me long enough."  
  
"Sans," Y/n's voice was gentle, loving, it made him even more confident that she was the one to share this...madness he's been through with."I've told you that you're not obligated to.."  
  
"i know, i know, love," he smiled a bit as the name he called her left his mouth."but i want you to know. it's important that you know."  
  
"Okay," she nodded and caressed his cheek lightly."Is there a place you would feel comfortable doing that?"  
  
"wherever until you're holding my hand," he gave her a little smile showing her that he was ok."but how does the beach sound?"  
  
"The beach it is," she squeezed his hand again reassuringly.  
  
He nods and, with a flash in his left eye, gets them to the beach in an instant.

 

  
  
  
***  
  


 

 

As the sun is shining brightly in the sky and the sea is shimmering, now calm and quiet, they find a place in the shadow, under a pine tree, between sand-dunes and patches of sedge. It's a quiet, secluded place and even though it's a deserted beach Sans still feels more safe here than in the open.

  
  
He looks at her and tells her how beautiful she looks, he can't help himself. She seems to not mind the distraction and appreciate the compliment quite a lot. That makes him happy.

  
They sit down onto the warm sand and he tries to start somehow, but words come difficultly, looking at her patient yet worried expression is difficult too. Y/n then asks him to turn his back to her. He does, facing the sea and wondering what she has planned. Suddenly, he sees her legs on either side of himself and feels her arms around his ribs before her chest is pressed to his back.

  
  
"Lean back, Sans, relax," she all but whispers and he does, leaning into her embrace, a feeling of being loved and secure washing over him as he breathes out a relieved sigh.

  
  
Y/n is leaning against the pine tree, her hands are layed on his shirt-covered spine and her head rests on top of his skull as he relaxes and scooches a bit down, resting his head on her soft chest, almost hearing her heartbeat. He covers her hands with his own, intertwines their fingers and thanks her. She presses a gentle kiss on the top of his skull.  
  
There's silence for a short while they both look at the sea and while Sans gathers his thoughts.

  
  
Then, he begins.

  
  
  
He supposes it all really starts when their father, Royal Scientist Wingdings Gaster, falls into his own creation - the CORE. Sans is barely a teenager at that time and Papyrus is even younger. The loss of their father devastates Sans and when Asgore comes to the intellectually gifted young skeleton to ask him if he would take up his father's mantle of the Royal Scientist, Sans wants nothing to do with it. He can't work where his father died, he can't risk that happening to himself too - he has Papyrus to take care of.

  
  
For a while Sans is numb, buried in his duties of taking care of his younger brother.

  
  
Funnily enough, no one in Snowdin talks about his father. Sans brushes it off as everyone avoiding the topic out of politeness until Grillby - the flame elemental Sans knew was his father's friend - also fails to remember the late scientist. Later, people start treating them like they just moved to Snowdin, although they've lived there quite some time and Gaster often took brakes just to walk with his sons outside - their overprotective father didn't want them wandering the streets alone. But everyone forgot, like they never saw the tall Royal Scientist in his long black coat walking around with his sons - like their memories of anything Gaster-related were just...gone.

  
  
As Sans begins to understand what really happened to his father, he goes to Asgore and, by now, the goat-king also has no recollection of the former Royal Scientist. He remembers there being one and Sans and Alphys being their apprentices, but who they were was now a completely blank page in his mind.  
  
Sans tries not to _fall down_ from the realization of what happened to his father. Not even memories remained of the kind-souled, nerdy skeleton scientist.

  
  
And, one day, Sans found that even the door to Gaster's bedroom had disappeared. He never dared to try and teleport into it, not sure where exactly he would end up.

  
  
Over the next few years, he takes care of Papyrus and tries to build a machine he thinks may bring their father back. The savings their father left them with could provide for them for now and Sans doesn't want to think about the time they'll run out of money. Hopefully, everything will be fixed by then and their dad will be back to take care of them, he tells himself. A crude picture he drew of himself, Papyrus and their father is always in the shelf in his - formerly his and his father's - workshop. A fear that he may forget is etched deep into Sans' soul, so he writes "don't forget" on it and looks at it at least once a day.

  
  
Alphys is appointed as the new Royal Scientist. Sans doesn't care.

  
  
The King's and Queen's kids die. Sans sends a letter with his condolences and, much to his shame, thinks that at least people will remember the two poor children - a privilege his father didn't get.

  
  
Asgore installs a new policy - Humans that fall down into the Underground are to be killed and their souls brought to the king. With seven souls, the Barrier can be shattered. Sans doesn't care about that, continuing to divide his time between taking care of Papyrus and spending time in the Workshop, trying to understand his fathers brilliant notes and work on his own invention.

  
Rumors of the Queen leaving New Home spread. Sans still doesn't care. What he does care is that money is growing thin.  
  
  
The First human since the implementation of the king's new policy falls into the Underground.  
Sans shuts the lights off, keeps Papyrus home, never out of his vision, remembering his father's lessons in magic and having 12 different places he can try to teleport to for safety if the human breaks down the door.  
  
At the end of the day, his phone rings and Undyne tells him excitedly that Asgore collected the first human soul in Waterfall. Sans can only sigh in relief.  
  


  
The Second human falls not long after that.  
  
Something must be wrong ''upstairs'', Sans thinks, why else would humans even go to Mount Ebott? He, again, stands watch near Papyrus' room until Alphys calls him. Apparently, monsters in the Ruins killed this one, as one of Froggits brings the soul to Asgore.

  
  
By this time, there's almost no money left. Sans realizes this too late and decides to sell their livingroom furniture and replace it with something cheap. He then gets a job selling hotdogs and hotcats. The machine still doesn't work.

  
  
The Third human falls by the time of Giftmas next year. This time, Sans has to argue with Papyrus who is now determined to catch a human and join the Royal Guard. He manages to trick his brother into making a trap in their livingrooom, so that when the human comes they would be caught in a clever way.  
  
Fortunately, it was a rather cold night, so the human was rumored to have frozen to death right on the outskirts of Snowdin after being exhausted by their battles with the dog-sentries.

  
  
Undyne starts coming over more frequently. She's in the royal guard now, determined to be Captain someday, preferably as soon as possible.

  
  
The Fourth human falls. Something was _really_ going on the surface if humans were now preferring to be on Mount Ebott more than anywhere else.  
  
This time, Sans doesn't even tell Papyrus there's a human. He tells his brother that he wants to train him in the art of stealth and that Papyrus needs to be extra quiet and unnoticeable. The younger skeleton diligently tries his best, but finally fall asleep from boredom. Sans watches over his little brother, ready to either whisk him far away or guard him until he himself is dust if the human comes.  
  
The next morning, the innkeeper knocks on their door and tells Sans that the human is dead. Sans asks for details, but she just shrugs and says "Asgore".

  
  
Finally, _finally_ , after years and years of trying, Sans' invention seems to be a finish line away from working. He gets into the machine and tries to switch it on only to momentarily be thrown into some kind of void, then suddenly somewhere where his senses were overwhelmed by sounds and images, too many and too powerful for him to comprehend. The next moment, he's back in the workshop again. He stumbles out of the machine, plugs it from all power sources and teleports out of there.  
  
That's when he starts having his first nightmares - glimpses of the other worlds, other timelines in parallel universes.

  
  
  
The Fifth human falls.  
  
This one has a gun. Asgore's roar can be heard even in Snowdin when Undyne gets shot through the eye. But the fish-monster clutches a bright-yellow soul in her hand, smiling her famous wide grin as her magic pours out of her left eye and as she's as close to turning to dust as it gets. Asgore gives her his magical energy, then turns to Gerson, the old veteran being skilled at healing battle wounds.

  
  
As soon as she's well, Undyne is promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard.  
  
  
  
His nightmares become more frequent and, despite his fears, he tries to force himself to work on the machine again.

His progress in considerably slower now, however, because he has to work more - Papyrus is older now and he wants books, comics, action figures and his own personal computer. He's also growing surprisingly fast, so clothes need to be bought too and quite often at that. Sans doesn't have the heart to make his brother go without any of it, so he takes more shifts, looks for another job and gives Papyrus his PC. He has a laptop in the workshop and if things come to it he can snag one from Alphys' lab before she would even know he was there - anyway, _he'd manage_. Papyrus deserved a carefree adolescence.

  
  
The Sixth human falls into the Underground.  
  
This time, after what happened to Undyne, Asgore orders that everyone, including the Royal guards, stay at home and hurries to take care of the human himself.  
  
Rumor has it that the human still managed to meet some monsters, but left them be, even offering them a kind smile. Rumor also has it that when Asgore met the human in Hotland, he was determined to collect their soul as fast as possible - and he did. However, although it is not known what conversation the human and the king shared in their battle, none of the residents of New Home could argue that it left an profound impact on the king, who became even more reclusive than ever.  
  
  
His nightmares continue, his machine doesn't work despite all of the calculations being correct. Sans can feel depression finally starting to eat at him too much for him to bear and decides to abandon his invention. If next time it teleports him somewhere and doesn't bring him back it will be Papyrus who suffers.

  
  
They've lived without a father many years already, enough to get used to it. It was time to stop.

  
  
Sans covers up the machine, powers down all the equipment in the workshop and closes he door securely.

  
  
He starts to spend more time at Grillby's or with his brother. Aside from his nightmares, life appears normal and Sans wonders if he should have just given up sooner, he wouldn't have been stuck with these nightmares if he would have.

  
  
Then, one night, Alphys calls him. He's just woken up from a nightmare so the call startles him. She's in panic, something has gone terribly wrong at the lab. He answers her harshly that she hasn't called him in years and that it probably means that she could manage well enough without him, she was the Royal Scientist after all. The timid, already socially anxious lizard-monster mutters her apologies and hangs up.  
  
In the morning he calls her and asks what she wanted. Her voice is shaky, but she assures him she just overreacted and apologizes a dozen of times before hanging up. Sans doesn't give it much thought, he has enough to think about now that he's working as a sentry, as a hotdog vendor and, sometimes, a stand-up comic at the MTT resort.  
  


  
Sometime later, a talking golden flower appears.  
  
His name is Flowey.  
  
Flowey the flower.

 

  
And this is where Sans' misery truly began.

  
  
  
At first, the flower made friends with everyone. Everything was fine.  
  
Then, one day, Sans awoke and found himself at the day that the flower first appeared. And the flower did appear. And he did everything Sans remembered him do. The skeleton thought that maybe it was his own fault, that when the machine transported him somewhere he broke something in the space-time continuum.

  
  
He thought so the next three times the situation repeated itself.

  
  
But there was something strange - everyone acted the same, but Flowey. Flowey would say different things, act differently, prompting the others to respond accordingly. But ultimately, it was Flowey who had a choice to act differently every time, Sans noticed. But he stayed silent.

  
  
It was when Flowey started dusting monsters Sans told the malicious weed that he was on to him. The flower seemed shocked, but recovered quickly, trying to dust Sans too. He underestimated the skeleton, however, and Sans dusted him instead. Sans never killed and this first time was a heavy blow to his soul. He didn't have time to recover, however, because he found himself waking up.

  
  
Checking his phone, he saw that it was the same day Flowey appeared.

  
  
Since then, Sans had been subjected to hundreds of resets. He confronted Flowey so many times, he killed and has been killed so much he wasn't even scared of it anymore. What he was scared of was his brother dying. At least a hundred times Papyrus died, being dusted by Flowey in various ways. Each and every time it chipped away a fragment of Sans' soul, points of his HoPe. Sans tried to talk to Papyrus, to Asgore, to Alphys, to anyone about what was going on, but whether they believed it or not he always ended up the only one remembering the previous timelines.

  
  
Until finally, he couldn't find the strength to care anymore. His HP went down to 1, his will to fight and struggle all but gone. He still engaged Flowey in battle if it meant saving...or avenging his brother, but he just couldn't bring himself to give it his all. He spiraled deeper into depression, keeping his apathy at bay just enough to be able to smile at his brother and keep up the charade. He stumbled about his day, not really giving a damn anymore, just waiting for the next reset and the emotional and physical pain it would bring.

  
Eventually it got so bad that, upon a new reset, his psyche would just sometimes shut off parts of his memory and he subconsciously avoided stirring those corners of his mind where he knew he would find knowledge that wouldn't help him anyway, but bring even more pain.

  
  
That's when he met Frisk. That's when the rules of the game changed again.

  
  
After the Barrier broke, there was a spike of magic energy that couldn't be rivaled. It seemed to restore the flow of magic and fix the abnormalities, including Sans' nightmares that were now less like visions and more like flashbacks, coming from inside his own mind and not projecting from other timelines.  
  
With time, the nightmares became fewer and further between.  
  
  
  
Since he met Y/n, they became even more tolerable, he said with a chuckle. Y/n stayed silent.

  
  
During his story she would sometimes hug him or nuzzle his skull with her cheek, giving him much needed encouragement to continue, but right now she was completely silent.  
  
"so, ugh, yeah..." Sans said quietly, looking down at their hands."now you know. i know it sounds impossible, but i swear- Y/n?"

  
  
He finally dared to let go of her hands, turn around and look at her. As he saw her, his breath hitched and his eye sockets widened. Her eyes were filled with tears, wet trails already visible on her cheeks. She did a damn well job keeping her crying quiet, Sans didn't notice it at all.

  
  
"Y/n..." he said, barely above a whisper.  
  
She opened her arms and managed a little loving smile.  
  
"Come here, Sans."

  
Instantly, he was there, in her arms, hugging her tightly and feeling her embrace him just as eagerly. Her soft hand caressed his skull and her lips touched his temporal bone.

  
  
" _Sans,_ " she cooed lovingly, struggling to keep her voice even, holding him like he was the most precious thing in the world, "I understand now. I understand everything that confused me before. If I had ever hurt your feelings because of being oblivious, I'm so, _so_ sorry. You've been through so much and you still took care of Papyrus, you still were so friendly, patient with others...with me. Stars, I love you so much."

  
  
Sans whimpered before he could catch himself, then breathed out a shaky, pained sigh, hiding his face into the crook of Y/n's neck, finding comfort in her familiar smell and the warmth of her skin against his facial bones.

  
"i love you too, Y/n. thanks for being there for me."  
  
"Thanks for trusting me," he feels her place a kiss on the side of his skull while her hands stroke his back."Everything's alright now, Sans. Everybody's out and Frisk destroyed the Reset, ah, button."  
  
"yeah..." he murmured,"Frisk is a real good kid...at least in this timeline, in this universe. we got lucky with them, judging by what i saw in my nightmares."

  
  
Y/n nodded and Sans pressed a light kiss to her neck, after that resting his frontal bone against the soft skin.  
  
" _tibia_ honest, i could stay like this forever."  
  
He felt her shift a bit and her hands embrace him more comfortably.  
  
"Stay. I got you."

  
  
"huh, isn't the guy supposed to hold a girl like this?" he mumbled yet nuzzled closer to her, feeling safe and loved in her warm embrace.  
  
"i thought monsters were supposed to have a more unbiased look on these kinds of things, or is human television beginning to influence you?" he felt her smile and then leave three light kisses on the top of his skull, making him feel special and his bones tingle from all the wonderful attention."but, seriously, Sans...you've been the protective one for so unimaginably long, through all of it...Let me watch over you now, you're safe."  
  
His body was already falling asleep, but his soul still gave an excited, happy thump. His bony hands held onto her more tightly and he closed his eye sockets, relaxing against her fully.  
  
"i always feel safe with you, you know."  
  
He felt her nuzzle his skull with her soft cheek.  
  
"thank you," he breathed out and as he felt her chest rise and her about to say something, he repeated, this time more softly."thank you, Y/n. thank you..."  
  
Maybe he would have cried, but after the way he cried at her apartment and after telling her his story now, he just couldn't even find the strength to cry, be it tears of tiredness or happiness. So he continued thanking her and calling her name as his voice grew softer and softer, finally quieting when he fell into a peaceful slumber.  
  


  
  
***

 

  
  
Y/n's POV

 

  
  
Small waves washed over the beach, sedge swayed in the wind, the warm summer breeze caressed her skin and the bones of the skeleton in her embrace.

  
  
Sans was sleeping, his form relaxed, his breathing slow and even. Y/n couldn't help but feel endearment swell inside her soul, even though her mind was overwhelmed.  
  
She did her best to appear calm when Sans finished his story, to show him how much she admired him, to make him feel safe. Now, when she was successful at that and the stout skeleton monster was napping with his skull resting on her clavicle, she had time to think.

  
  
  
What Sans had told her...it was _horrifying_. It was impossible, yes, but she trusted Sans, he was way more knowledgeable in both magic and science, so she believed him. And believing it made it even more terrifying.

  
  
Not only did Sans take care of his brother and spent years trying to bring their father back, but he also was subjected to hundreds of resets, watching the flower-monster known as Flowey play with his friends and family the way a cruel, moody child would with their toys. And he tried to fight it, to save everyone from it, and even after hundreds of times, even when he was exhausted and crestfallen, he still protected his brother, no matter the cost or his own pain.  
  
Y/n felt tears roll down her cheeks. Sans was asleep, so she let herself cry, being as quiet as she could. She didn't have any right to cry, all these horrors didn't happen to her, but her heart, her soul ached for her beloved monster so much that everytime she remembered any part of his story - be it about losing their father, everyone forgetting their family or Flowey's resets - new tears spilled from her eyes.  
  
She raised her head and turned it so that her tears wouldn't fall of Sans' skull - he didn't need to see her cry again. Not because he wouldn't understand, he would, but because she knew that he would blame himself. He already saw her cry ant the end of his story, he knew how much she felt for him. Seeing her cry again would only make him guilty. And he shouldn't feel guilty, she wanted to share this with him, she was happy he trusted her, she just..needed a moment to let her emotions quiet down and her mind process this.

  
  
So she sat there, holding this wonderful, courageous, enduring skeleton in her arms, happy he could find peace and solace in her embrace.  
  
She felt , however impossible that seemed, that she loved him even more now.

  
  
Small waves still washed over the beach, sedge still swayed in the wind and the warm summer breeze still caressed her skin and the bones of the skeleton in her embrace when his breathing changed and he let out a soft yawn.  
  
When he lifted his head to look at her, she greeted him with a smile and a loving kiss, a kiss that the skeleton all but melted into.

  
  
The rest of their day was calm, spent at a leisurely pace and filled with quiet talks, soft chuckles and frequent displays of affection. And by the time they were falling asleep after watching a movie, she felt like everything was perfect.

  
  
And as Sans held her close and asked her yet again if she was comfortable, she could swear she saw his eyelights turn heart-shaped.

  
  
She was, however, already half asleep, so it was probably her imagination.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was Chapter 10!  
> Next up - last day in the cabin and the return to the city. 
> 
>  
> 
> /SO THAT IDEA I HAD/
> 
> So I thought how I could show my appreciation of you, my very beautiful, darling readers, and I decided to do the following:
> 
> For this Sunday+Monday+Tuesday, that means the 11th, 12th and the 13th of September 2016, I'm doing a tiny little 'Sans/You' drabble-giveaway. 
> 
> In the comments to this chapter, write:  
> 1\. up to 6 key words. They can be what needs to be in the story, what characters need to be there or the tone of the story. (Example: Rain. Pineapple pizza. Undyne. Comedy.) Note that I will not write anything above a T rating, let's keep this light and fun;)  
> 2\. your gender and a short description of yourself(if you want to, you're not at all obligated, I can manage without)  
> 3\. the name you want to be called(also not obligatory, you can leave it blank and I'll just leave it "Y/n" like always)
> 
> I will, as soon as I can, post a little short drabble thingy in the reply. If you're not comfortable with sharing your little gift in the comments, leave an e-mail address I can send it too. I'm a shy person, I can relate;)
> 
> Sooo...yeah. See you in the comments or in the next chapter :D  
> Stay sansational!


	11. ...Heeeey there.

Hey there.

Guess who's still alive and kickin'?

First off - I'M SO, SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING LIKE THAT.

Like, damn. I'm sincerely sorry.

I feel like I should explain myself, so I'll do just that.

Basically, my laptop broke and, as a poor-ass student who just bought tickets to visit the family for NewYears, I just didn't have the money to fix it at a shop. At that point, knowing how much I've written for my stories already(prior to the laptop slipping into a coma) I just said: "Welp, not re-doing THAT again!".

Also, I can't begin to try and explain how excruciating it was to do all my computer work at my university library. I love libraries, I just hated going there almost every day prior or after I had to go to work. Blegh...Not to mention depending exclusively on my phone for entertainment. Me and my Charizard have beaten the Elite Four two times over, though, so that's something.

Anyway, the important part:  
My dad fixed my laptop, I'm back from my holiday trip and I'm going to start editing the pile of unedited material I have on all my stories.

Again, I repeat:  
Reapertale, Joke Books And Children's Stories, Put me Back Together and Under Your Armor - all of it is coming back. Estimated date of arrival - the 14th-15th of January. Reapertale has 3 chapters, Joke Books And Children's Stories has 2, Put me Back Together has 3 and Under Your Armor also has 3. I'll post everything in 1 day so everyone has something to read :D

I could post it all now, but I HATE posting mistake-filled, ill-written stuff, and I kinda need to read it all again, so I remember the mood of every story and the direction everything was heading in.

Sooo...yeah.

I'm sorry for just vanishing, but..erm, yeah, I'm back. Good to be back, I missed everyone.

Now let's get back to it, eh?


End file.
